Today is Mother’s Day. I think of my Mom who raised eight kids with the help of my Dad. Each day they had to focus on the job at hand: feeding, clothing, teaching, loving, and sharing their lives with us. We were a religious family and even had group prayer together. In her own way, my Mom taught us (often by example) to trust God in our everyday lives. God’s Word shows us how that trust brings perfect peace.
Isaiah 26:3:
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed [samech] on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Those who stay their mind on God and trust Him will have perfect peace. The Hebrew reads “peace, peace” and shows the depth and quality of peace only available when we fellowship with our heavenly Father.
The word “stayed” is from the Hebrew root samech. This word occurs 48 times in the Old Testament. However, it appears that it is only used in this same grammatical form (as found in Isaiah 26:3) in two other places: Psalms 111:8 and 112:8.
An interesting note on God’s perfection of His Word is that both of these psalms are acrostic psalms. That means that each line begins with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in alphabetical order. And both of the verses containing this word “stayed” correspond with the Hebrew letter samech – the concept of being stayed or steadfast.
Psalms 111:8:
They [God’s sure commandments from verse 7] stand fast [samech] for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
Psalms 112:8:
His [the righteous who trusts in the Lord from verses 6 and 7] heart is established [samech], he shall not be afraid…
Look at the surety of the peace we have when we stay our mind on God and trust in Him. It is based on the surety of His commandments that last forever. It is for the righteous who are not afraid. How did we get such peace, eternal truth, and righteousness? Through Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:14:
For he [Christ] is our peace….
John 14:6,27:
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life….
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you….
I Corinthians 1:30:
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.
We have God’s peace through His Son, Jesus Christ. That is what we focus on in life—our completeness in Christ. And our Father meets our every need because of what His Son has done for us.
Staying Our “Mind”
It is also interesting to note that the word for “mind” in Isaiah 26:3 is often translated as “imagination.” It is what allows us to conceive of thoughts and ideas. God designed our mind and the amazing way that the brain (body) works with our thought life (soul) to think and understand. When we receive God’s gift of holy spirit, we can then receive His thoughts.
Psalms 103:14:
He knoweth our frame [the word for “mind” in Isaiah 26:3]; He remembereth that we are dust.
The Lord knows our mind, our imagination. He is the heart searcher. He remembers that we are made of dust, just as Adam was. Our fantastically engineered body is one of God’s most beautiful works. We are awesomely and wonderfully made.
I have joyful memories of my earthly Mom’s care for us. And what a joy it is to take time each day and stay our mind on our Father’s goodness as we trust Him to be our sufficiency in all things. He has given us a sure peace through Christ, now and throughout eternity.
