You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3
Pastor Bill McCleod, who spent the last decades of his life preaching at literally thousands of churches in North, South, and Central America, related a story wherein he had been preaching a week of services in a church in South America and was at the pastor’s residence after the last service. He was standing in the living room in his suit talking with several people when the pastor’s wife came by him and asked if he needed anything. Having been told he would like a glass of water, she went to the kitchen to retrieve it. When she returned with a large glass full of water, rather than handing it to him, she threw all the water on him, dousing him and his suit. After the initial surprise, he looked at her and smiled. “Having kindly brought me a glass of water, might I now trouble your for a towel?” he responded. She returned with the towel and threw it at him. Then He asked if he might trouble her with one more thing – an explanation. She told him that she had heard him preach all week on being unprovoked and thought it was just words, so she decided to see if he really practiced what he preached.
How can a human truly have perfect peace? Having their mind stayed on God. Does this mean joining a monastery and sitting all day and praying and meditating on God without end? Not at all. It means, firstly, to fully accept the truth that God is all-powerful and runs the universe as He sees fit. Secondly, fully accepting and having the settled disposition in your mind that God is a good and benevolent being and that whatever happens is according to His wise plan and happens both for His glory and for the good of His children. Thirdly, get up and go through everyday with these truths settled in your mind. Finally, as you go through your day, speak to Him and acknowledge these truths back to Him and constantly thank Him for His wise and benevolent control of everything.
A thankful heart is a serene heart. A person who knows without question that his/her loving heavenly Father cares deeply and is intimately aware of all the goes on around them can walk through life in peace. Difficult and even painful events may and likely will occur, but you can, like a clock on a ship in a rough storm, keep a regular beat and be imperturbed.
For more information on Pastor Bill McCleod and the Canadian Revival, go to: https://romans1015.com/tag/pastor-bill-mcleod/
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For His glory,
Jim