The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Leaning, Resting"
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee" (Isaiah 26:3).
A friend and I considered this verse yesterday, which led me to further pondering about what it means to "stay" our minds on the Lord. The original Hebrew of the text, "camak," means to lean or rest upon. This is exactly what we would expect our minds to require in order to be kept in peace. The Apostle Paul elaborates.
"Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).
We "stay" our minds on the Lord by determining to see the path of our lives paved with opportunities to consciously and decisively lean upon and rest in Him. "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17). Challenges, of whatever mode or measure, beckon us to remember God's involved presence in our hearts and lives, and also our desperate need for His working to lead, provide, and protect us. We must make many choices to remember and affirm God's trustworthiness as the only safe harbor of our trust. The peace of our hearts depends on this, and even more, the glory of the Lord Jesus revealed within and through us as "the Prince of peace" (Isaiah 9:6).
We do not have to avoid stumbling by our own attempts to remain upright. Nor must our hearts become weary because life so continually challenges our peace. The "staying" of our minds assures us of this, or rather, the stability of the One upon whom we lean and in whom we rest. In this, and in all days, many opportunities will call us to consciously and decisively trust God. Peace awaits because as we often suggest in these messages, no one has ever trusted the Prince of peace and been disappointed for doing so. And no one ever will.
"Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved?"
(Song of Solomon 8:5)
"Rest in the Lord."
(Psalm 37:7)
"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."
(Psalm 56:3)
Weekly Memory Verse
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send me.
(Isaiah 6:8)
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