Tag: peace in our lives

So many times, we struggle to find peace in our lives, and we wonder why.

The people of Israel were no different. But here in verses 17–18, God gives them the answer.

This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.

If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. (Isaiah 48:17–18)

In other words, God has the blueprint to a life of peace.

It only makes sense. He created life. He designed it. He knows how life works. And if we would just obey him, we would find peace and a life that works.

But many people only give lip service to God and his Word.

They say they love him. They say they follow him. But in reality, they ignore his word, and just live their own way.

That’s what God said of the Israelites.

Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and invoke the God of Israel – but not in truth or righteousness – you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city and rely on the God of Israel – the Lord Almighty is his name. (Isaiah 48:1–2)

The Israelites said they followed God. They said their oaths in his name. They called upon him. They said they were his people, and that he was their God.

But their actions and attitudes said the exact opposite.

God told them,

I knew how stubborn you were; the sinews of your neck were iron, your forehead was bronze…

You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ear has not been open.

Well do I know how treacherous you are; you were called a rebel from birth. (4, 8)

Harsh words. But can the same be said of us? Do we harden our hearts to God and his word? Do we rebel against what he has said?

So many times we wonder why our lives are falling apart. Why our marriages aren’t working. Why our other relationships are falling apart. Why our careers are going nowhere.

And because of that, we can’t find peace in our lives.

But at the same time, when we look at God’s word, we ignore it.

Or we say, “It won’t work.”

Or “It’s too hard.”

And so we do things our own way. What is the end result of this?

“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” (22)

How much better would our lives be if we would just obey him? To follow the blueprint for life that he has laid out in his Word?

How about you? Are you lacking peace? Stop trusting your own wisdom. Soften your hardened hearts. Seek God and his ways.

And if you do, you will find that peace that flows like a river through your soul.

The choice is yours.