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In 1971, Cat Stevens made a record that resonated with the universal desire for peace. He urged us all to jump on the peace train. This video shows you the lyrics as you listen to this catchy tune.

Peace. It’s such an illusive idea these days.

When we look around – at the news reports, at the faces of people we meet on the street – peace is not the word that comes to mind. There is stress and struggle and war and conflict. There is violence and contention and litigation and outrage. But there is not much peace.

What Mr. Stevens implored us to do was not wrong, but I think he missed the key component – the great Peace-Keeper.

I have found myself reflecting on a passage that really rooted in my understanding when a dear friend preached a series of messages from it over fifteen years ago. It’s a beautiful statement about God’s faithfulness and His gift of peace.

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

Isaiah 26.3

As Isaiah writes what God reveals to his heart, these words come flowing from the prophet’s pen with such beauty. He recognizes God’s revelation of Himself as our great Peace-Keeper.

I love the way these words fit together – “perfect peace.” The word “perfect” we usually use to mean that something is flawless or without error. It does carry that sense, but the biblical usage carries much more of a sense of completion or fullness. When he writes, “perfect peace,” he is expressing a total and complete peace – one that is absolute.

There is a condition to this peace-keeping. We have to cooperate with Him. We must stay our minds upon Him, but that’s a discussion for another day (probably tomorrow’s blog post).

I am convinced, my friends, that the only hope for peace in this troubled world can come through a personal relationship with the only God in all of the world of religious thought who even makes any claim to love us enough to come to us and die for us. You may be searching for your own answers. Would you consider the claims of the God of the Bible and His role as the one and only Peace-Keeper?