Isaiah 26:3, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee because he trusteth in Thee." (KJV)


I had read the above scripture many times, but today two words, "perfect peace", jumped out at me.   I know what peace is, but what is perfect peace?   I looked up the Hebrew translation of Isaiah 26:3 and found that the two words, perfect and peace in this scripture were the same word.  They are both the Hebrew word "shalom." The scripture literally reads, "Thou wilt keep him in shalom shalom whose mind is stayed on thee..." (For all of you Bible scholars out there, here are the complete Hebrew written words of this passage.   I have hi-lighted the two words shalom side by side. יֵ֣צֶר סָמ֔וּךְ תִּצֹּ֖ר שָׁלֹ֣ום שָׁלֹ֑ום כִּ֥י בְךָ֖ בָּטֽוּחַ׃ )

After seeing this, I needed to know why the Lord would duplicate a word in a sentence.  He could have said He will keep us in peace and that would have been excellent in itself, but He chose to write shalom twice.   It certainly was not by coincidence or an error on His part.

What I found is that the translation of this double shalom (peace) means that the Lord will give a double portion of His kind of shalom to those who focus on Him. 

Shalom means so much more than only being at peace or having no conflict.  It means completeness, soundness, welfare, prosperity, safe, good health, happy, favored, rest, literally nothing missing or broken in one's life, complete restoration.

Reflect on that for a moment.  In Isaiah 26:3 God is promising us a double portion of completeness, soundness, welfare, prosperity, safety, good health, happiness, favor, rest, nothing missing or broken in our lives if we will focus on Him putting our confidence in Him and not in ourselves.  This is a double portion inheritance and blessing!  Wow, what an awesome Heavenly Father we have!

Oh, Heavenly Father, please help us keep our focus on You today.

God bless you!
Pastor Sandy

Psalm 34:8, "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." (KJV)

In our Christian walk, it is extremely important to rightfully see the nature of God. The Hebrew word for good in the above scripture is טוֹב -towb (pronounced tove). It literally means good, pleasant in the highest nature, agreeable, kind, benign, ethical, merry, prosperity, wealth, glad.

Jesus is our best example of showing us the nature of God. He said in John 14:9, "...he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." (KJV)

Jesus did nothing but good when He walked as a man on this earth. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38). Therefore, because Jesus said he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father, God the Father is a loving God doing good. He has even adopted us as His children (Romans 8:15-16). As a loving Father, He would never commit any harm against us. This is confirmed by what Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 7

Matthew 7:9-11, "Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (KJV)

James wrote in James 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (KJV)

God is so good that He even promises to turn our darkest moments into good for us. Whatever He touches turns to good (טוֹב -towb).

Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (KJV)

If you are His born-again child, then you love God and are called according to His purpose. How do you know you love Him? You love Him because His love has been shed abroad in your heart (Romans 5:5). Love is already placed there from the time you receive Jesus. It is a gift to us from the Holy Spirit and love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8).

There is no evil in God and He does not tempt man with evil.

James 1:13, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." (KJV)

When crises comes, when "sure" things fail, this is when knowing the nature of God is crucial to see you through. God only wants the best for His children.

Yes, there are still valleys in life, but during those times, beloved do not ask God why He let this happen or why He did this. Do not blame Him at all. Let His Holy Spirit remind you of what Jesus said in John Chapter 10.

John 10:10, "The thief (satan) comes to steal, to kill and to destroy, but I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly." (KJV)

Yes, we have an enemy who goes about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8) but there is Good News. For this purpose the Son of God came that He might destroy the works of the devil! (1 John 3:8).

Through Jesus Christ, He has made it our security that no matter what happens, we win because He is good!

Thank you dear Jesus that You have already given us the victory in You! May we live our lives in that revelation.

Many blessings!
Pastor Sandy