Dear friends:

One of my favorite promises of God is in Isaiah 26:3, which in the King James Version reads:

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

In the more modern English (NKJV) it reads:

"You will keep him in perfect peace,  Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You/"

It promises "perfect peace."  Nice promise.  But it is even better than that! 

I discovered the words "perfect peace" are not in the original Hebrew.  Instead are the words "shalom shalom."  It is really promising you, not just shalom, but a double portion of shalom!  You simply cannot beat that.

"Shalom," of course, is the Hebrew word usually translated "peace," and it does mean that.  But it also means much more than peace.  According to Strong's Enhanced Lexicon, it also means: "completeness, safety, soundness, welfare, health, prosperity (yes, I said "prosperity" for you nay-sayers), tranquility, contentment, and safety."

The Lexicon also says that the word "mind" in the Hebrew (yetser) means "imagination."

Therefore, one could accurately paraphrase the verse by saying, "God will keep you in peace, completeness, safety, soundness,  welfare, health, prosperity, tranquility, contentment, and safety if you keep your imagination on Jesus, and trust in Him.

So, do you need peace, completeness, safety, soundness, welfare, health, prosperity, tranquility, contentment, and safety?  Well. keep imagining Jesus and His Word, day and night, and trust in Him.

Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2)

Since the law was only a shadow of Jesus, the coming Messiah, you could paraphrase that to read:

"But his delight is in Jesus,

And on Jesus he meditates day and night."

Results guaranteed.  God cannot lie. 

Jim