We live in a day when human arrogance and tyranny seems to be rampant around the globe. Isaiah’s good news message is that God will bring His purposes to fruition and evil powers will fail.
On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;
he sets up walls and bulwarks as a safeguard.
Open the gates,
so that the righteous nation that maintains faithfulness
may enter in.
Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace,
in peace because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for in the Lord God
you have an everlasting rock. (Isaiah 26:1-4)
The nation that keeps faithfulness consists of individuals who trust in the Lord. God’s faithful center their attitudes and actions, determined to be aligned with His will.
Paul wrote about a steadfast mind-set: “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
The mind that experiences God’s peace amid chaotic times, is not conformed to this age. John wrote about the unstable nature of what happens when we align with the world’s system.
Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world.
And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever (1 John 2:15-17).
John instructs us not to love the values of the world. Paul emphasizes a mind that is transformed, renewed, and able to discern God’s will.
Those who follow the teachings of John and Paul will experience God’s peace, as they begin to see life from the perspective of the Prince of Peace.
Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount with guidance designed to give us the best life possible (Matthew 7:24–27). He told His followers that obeying His teaching would be like building a house on solid rock rather than shifting sand.
A Story of Two Contrasts
When Mary sang of God’s care for the lowly and judgment on their oppressors, she was in good company with God’s prophecy through Isaiah.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty. (Luke 1:51-53)
Like Mary sang some 700 years later, Isaiah wrote:
For he has brought low
the inhabitants of the height;
the lofty city he lays low.
He lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust. (Isaiah 26:5)
God brings down human arrogance and tyranny, but He is a refuge for those who relate to Him with steadfast love.
The way of the righteous is level;
straight is the path of the righteous that you clear. (Isaiah 26:7)
God’s love and grace calls for a response.
In the path of your judgments,
O Lord, we have placed hope;
your name and your renown
are the soul’s desire.
My soul yearns for you in the night;
my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. (Isaiah 26:8-9a)
There are three attitudes and actions that form the foundation of peace in times of chaos.
(1) Hope is not a hope-so wishful thinking. Biblical hope is a firm trust in God. It is the opposite of the double-minded person in James 1.
(2) When God is our soul’s desire, we elevate our gaze from the world’s values – and troubles – to obtain a heavenly perspective.
This is not a Pollyanna, pie-in-the-sky, dreamy perspective. It may entail a cross, because Jesus told us that His followers must take up their cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34).
Nevertheless, when God is our soul’s desire, He will keep us in perfect peace. This is the promise of verse 3.
(3) Jesus taught His followers to not worry, but to seek God’s rule in their lives.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
As we praise God for His love, let’s respond to Him with attitudes and actions worthy of His abundant grace.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 