Scripture

Isaiah 26:3-4, 7-8, 12-13
3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! 4 Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.

7 But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them. 8 Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name.

12 Lord, you will grant us peace; all we have accomplished is really from you. 13 O Lord our God, others have ruled us, but you alone are the one we worship.

Observations
Similar to what Pat covered at the end of today’s teaching, we can have peace that surpasses all understanding as in Philippians 4:7 if we stand firm and fix our every thoughts on Him. He is the/our rock and salvation in Psalm 75:35. It is when we do focus, intently and intentionally, that we can know that peace, the assurance and comfort that He alone provides. When we let our minds wander, it will do just that - and mine generally tends to keep doing so.

In 7 it reminds us how good God is - that He is with us through the difficult and challenging times in life; wanting to make it easier for us if we allow Him to. As Jesus asked us in John 13:35, to love one another is to be His disciple; in John 14:15 to keep his commandments is to love him - we can bring glory and honor to God by doing these all the time.

In life we defer to those in power and authority - the president, governor, mayor, military, police, etc., while we acknowledge who they are and give them the respect they may be due, they do not own my allegiance and heart - only the Lord does. We are simply called to be respectful and are not to worship these people as the ultimate ruler of our or my heart and life; that alone is for Jesus only.

Application
1) Pray, ask for Jesus’ to provide me the peace that only He can; 2) Trust and Obey - to do what He asks of me, similar to what Pat taught today too; 3) He never said my life would not have challenges and difficulties, what he did say in verse 7 is that God always does what is right and will see me through those times; 4) in all things I will glorify your name Lord Jesus because you are worthy - you provided me whatever was needed to succeed in life so far, despite my faults and failures you allowed me to get far, so may I never forget to worship and praise you.

Prayer
Father God, thank you for your peace, walking alongside me Lord Jesus in difficult times, providing for my family in this season, loving on us despite the times we have taken our eyes off of you! May we live out our lives in a manner that pleases you, that you receive all the glory and honor - from my family and those who do not know you, as you are the only one rightfully deserving of it. Continue to work in, over, and through me. In Jesus’ matchless, powerful name, amen!