Linger Longer

Perfect peace. These two words that have often been spoken and taught in many a sermon over the years are words that are oftentimes the most difficult ones to not only understand, but actually be experienced. These words come from Isaiah 26:3 within the Song of Salvation which the chapter centers around. This is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible in regards to finding not only peace with God, but peace internally within ourselves, despite circumstances that may be taking place in our life externally. This is not simply just a catch phrase to quote aloud to someone when they are going through a trial or a difficult season in their life and their heart and mind seem to be in turmoil. This truth and promise is meant to be experienced and known by all who have been adopted into the family of God through Christ. Knowing this truth of Scripture is just the first step in our journey to come to a fuller understanding of God, as well as understanding His truest heart toward us.

In a recent reading of this chapter of Isaiah and meditating on this idea of finding perfect peace in life, I sensed the Spirit illuminate something new. He showed me to read the verse in reverse, which actually brought to light a different perspective I hadn’t fully seen before. If you read the verse backwards in the New King James Version it reads something like this, “Because he trusts in You, and his mind is stayed on You, You will keep him in perfect peace.” The reason we can find and experience perfect peace in God is because of two things we can put into practice: Trusting and lingering. These are the two things I would like to hone in on to hopefully bring a bit more clarity to this ever elusive, “perfect peace.”

The Lord has given me countless reminders this year to keep a childlike faith and trust in Him. Since having our first child, I have noticed how much they trust us with their lives, and yet as I age, I find that there is an almost daily temptation to shoulder the weight of life and its responsibilities on my own to prove my worth to my family and myself. It doesn’t take much time at all to feel the effects that this has spiritually, physically, and especially mentally. Trusting in God requires daily dependance on Him for everything, not just the big trials and temptations that come our way, but the daily grind with all of its monotonous activities. The more we surrender our lives to Him, over time, we will surely experience how sweet it is to trust in Jesus, as one of our most beloved hymns reminds us. Take Him at His word and be reminded that a childlike trust in Him is one of the most valuable things we can learn this side of heaven.

Just as important as it is to trust Him with our lives, we also need to learn the practice of lingering with Him. What do I mean by linger? Oxford Dictionary gives a great definition of this word, to “stay in a place longer than necessary because of a reluctance to leave.” What an amazing thought. To stay in the presence of God, longer than necessary. Just as an aside, I don’t believe that we can “outstay” God, or overstay our welcome with Him. He not only desires to fill us continually through His Spirit, but wants us to continually fellowship with Him; to abide with Him. For most of us, when we think about spending our quiet time with the Lord, we traditionally think about anywhere between fifteen to thirty minutes, forty five if we are lucky. The Lord knows that we have responsibilities in life and areas that we have to tend to daily, but if we believe that all of it is truly from Him and through Him, then we may be more apt to slow down and spend some extra time intentionally lingering longer with Him throughout our days here on earth. When I truly have all of my senses encapsulated in Him and with Him, I truly am reluctant to “leave.” Yes he is always with us, but we experience our God on an even deeper level when we are intentional about wanting to be with Him in that secret place, wherever it may be. During those times, our heart is healed, our soul is mended, our strength is restored, and our mind is enraptured in Him. Even when the day takes off and the pressures of life mound; mentally, slow down. Remind yourself or, if it is helpful; imagine Him right there alongside you, and allow His peace to grant you solace.

In a life that seems to be so fast-paced to the point where we cannot seem to gather a coherent thought at times, it almost seems impossible to keep our mind trained and focused on Him. Pastor Steve brought up an interesting point within a recent teaching that every six seconds, we have a new thought enter in to our mind. This just goes to show how difficult it is for the human mind to truly find its focus. We use phraseology like “squirrel moment”, “scatter-brained”, and other comical descriptions that paint a good picture of what goes on in our head internally on a daily basis. Not only is the culture influencing us to be overly busy in our minds, our own minds are already having its own struggles to find a place of rest. So, what do we do? First, I believe we have to slow down the treadmill of our minds, and, if we can’t, we have to ask the Lord to help us too. The world at large, and yes, even our government, is corrupt and trying to incite fear and anxiety into our lives with each passing day, all the while being the puppets for the true darkness that lies behind them. In order to slow the effects of this and keep fear and anxiety out of our lives, we have to internally train our minds to be so fixed upon Jesus in these days, so that we are not led astray or tormented by the uncertainties ahead, worries of the future, and tactics the enemy uses to employ against us. And just as a reminder, one I hope may bring you some additional peace; the war is over, Lucifer and his cohorts are a defeated foe because of Christ.

So, in closing, I believe that this perfect peace is something that can be a reality for everyone of us. If we trust Him, if we linger longer with the Lord not only in the secret place, but in every minute of every day within our minds, we will experience this promise of God. I pray that in the coming days, no matter how dark, uncertain, or tumultuous, we will keep our minds fixed and focused on Him. Turn your internal eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace. The Lord bless you, and keep you, make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you, and give you peace.

Perfect Peace by Ryan Ellis

Where can I go with all the hurt
When my whole world is crashing down
What can I do when I can't breathe
And all I see are valleys now
And when I find it hard to speak
And my heart just won't believe
I feel you standing next to me, next to me

You keep me in perfect peace
You keep me in perfect peace
I've found in you all I need, God
You keep me in perfect peace

By Mark Anderson

September 2023