A Prayer for Peace in Unstable Times
By Emily Rose Massey
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3, ESV).
My husband and I are each the first-born children in our families. Although there isn’t any science behind first-born personalities, psychologists have taken note of the common traits regarding those who have been born first among their siblings.
In general, firstborn children have been found to be responsible, assertive, task-oriented, perfectionistic, and supporters of authority. With all of those leadership characteristics, a great amount of weight can be placed upon the shoulders of the individuals prone to be the rule-follower and goal chaser. This can often lead to much stress and anxiety if not constantly kept in check. When two firstborns marry each other, they can run together with fervor to achieve dreams and become very productive as a family, but the home also needs peace to reign in it most of all. And not just a “problem-free” type of peace - a peace that passes all understanding regardless of what is happening. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can offer us this kind of perfect peace.
In God’s providence, one of the reasons we named our firstborn child, Isaiah, was because of a very special verse found in the book of Isaiah regarding this kind of perfect peace that my husband and I know that we need every single day. Right in the middle of a prophecy regarding the land of Judah, the prophet Isaiah uttered these beautiful words about the Lord and His peace in chapter 26:
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3, ESV).
For many of us, these last few years have felt a bit unstable. We have all experienced some form of worry, stress, and anxiety from the unknown future. From viruses, suddenly losing loved ones, empty store shelves, job losses, rising home prices, and hefty grocery bills week after week - we have all needed to find perfect peace. Our answer is found in fixing our gaze upon the Lord and anchoring our minds to His unwavering truth. No matter what is going on around us, we can find unshakable confidence in the Lord because He is ever-faithful to us. This is why staying in the Word consistently is so important when experiencing stressful or unstable times. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17) and the more we are studying the Scriptures, the stronger our trust in God becomes.
The Word of God is so powerful, and the more we study and meditate upon it, the stronger our foundation will be in Christ, and we will continually know how to look to Him any time stress and anxiety try to overtake us. Let us always be quick to ask the Lord for His sustaining grace and help in our time of need, looking to Him always because He cares for us. No matter what is going on around us, even if it seems like everything is falling apart, we must remember that God holds the entire universe in His hands. He is completely sovereign. Nothing passes through His hands by accident. He is in total control and has a great plan regarding all of it; We can trust in Him and rest in His great, perfect peace. Let us set our mind upon Him.
Let’s pray:
Lord, thank You that You want us to set our minds upon You at all times. Thank You that there is nowhere I can go that You are not there with me. Thank You for having a hold of my life, even as I feel like everything is crumbling around me. I confess that I have let stress take a hold of my life rather than You. I have tried to control things in my life, and at the same time, I have let anxiety control my mood, my attitude, and my actions. Lord, I repent of this!
Please Father, help me see what is stressful or worrisome in my life and hand it over to You. Help me actively think about Your goodness to me. I am so hopeful for my eternity with you, Lord, where the presence of sin and fear will be no more! Help me look back on all the ways You have rescued me from my fearful moments and remember where You have always been faithful to me in the midst of great trials. Help me to rest in the truth of Your goodness and power today. Thank You, Lord, for Your perfect peace.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Elle Mundus
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
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