You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock (Isa. 26:3–4).
I've watched this verse be lived out in a very real way recently. A friend of mine emailed me a few days ago, telling me about her pastor. She explained how her church gathered together to pray for him as he lay in a hospital bed... dying. Yet this man was kept in perfect peace, knowing that he would be going home to Christ. His only concern was for those in the church who have not yet been saved. Much like Paul felt as he wrote to the Philippians:
As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account (Phil. 1:20–24).
All of Paul's hope was in the Lord. His eyes were fastened upon Christ.
The pastor's dying wish and Paul's passionate words remind me that:
- Christ is constant.
- He is an everlasting rock.
- All else is sinking sand.
Hearing the testimony of my friend's pastor prompted me to look at the things I am putting my hope in. I found that a good deal of my hope is insecure. All we truly have is Christ. Everything else could be taken away from us at any time.
How about you? Consider the things that you put your hope in. Do they lead to perfect peace? Or are they more like sinking sand?
Heavenly Father, I pray that You would be the center of our lives. Be the place we fix our eyes. Teach us to abide in You. Be the One we desire above all else. Let our lives bring glory to Your name. Amen.
This post was written by Deanna Martin.
