Whenever God wants to tell me something, He usually has to repeat Himself a few times before I clue in. Often He uses a particular Bible verse to speak to me. After bumping into it every time I turn around–in a book, in a magazine, in a conversation–I finally start to pay attention.

I’ve been playing “bumper cars” with a couple of verses recently, one of which is Isaiah 26:3. I’m familiar with this one. In fact, I used to have a little wall hanging of it in calligraphy in the King James Version on my college sorority room wall. It looked something like this:

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

I’m not sure I’ve been getting a passing score in the subject of “Peace” lately, much less a perfect one, so I decided to do a little extra credit in the hopes of raising my grade. One of my favorite Bible study tools is an online Bible site where you can click on individual words to find their meaning in the original language. (You can find it at www.biblestudytools.com.)

So I typed in “Isaiah 26:3” and began clicking away. Here’s what I found:

The Hebrew word for “keep” means to guard, watch, watch over. (If you read my previous post titled “Guarded” you’ll understand why I liked that reference.) Another definition for “keep” is to be kept close.

I clicked on “peace” and up popped a familiar Hebrew word: shalom. I clicked on “perfect” and lo and behold, there it was again! So “perfect peace” is literally shalom shalom. Like I said, I start to pay attention when God repeats Himself. This is obviously something He wants us to understand.  Shalom is not so much about perfection as it is about “completeness, soundness, welfare.”

Next up was the word “mind,” which, interestingly, is most often translated imagination in the KJV. My imagination definitely likes to run off, taking my peace right along with it. The word for “mind” literally means form, framing, purpose or framework.  Hmm. The image of a picture frame came to my mind.

“Stayed” means to lean, lay, rest, support, uphold, lean upon. One of the other verses that I’ve been bumping into also contains the word “lean”:  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5) This may be an indication that I’ve been feeling old lately, but I imagined an elderly woman, hunched over, leaning on a cane for support.

Finally, “trusteth.” What does it look like to really trust in the Lord? To “trust” is to have confidence, be bold, to be secure. It can also mean to feel safe, be careless.

The first point I felt God was trying to make was that HE was the one responsible for my peace, not me. I was stressed because I was failing to experience “perfect peace.” Only that wasn’t an assignment He had given me. He is the Prince of (perfect) Peace. It’s His job to provide it and to keep us there.

I returned to the word “mind” and the idea of a frame. If my life and circumstances are like a canvas, then perhaps the frame represents my perspective, my thoughts about my circumstances. Framing them correctly, with God’s Word and His perspective, is something I can do. It’s too easy to lean on our own understanding of a situation instead of keeping our mind “stayed,” or leaning, on His viewpoint.

My daughter Emily is a college art major and has practically taken over one of the rooms in our basement with all of her art supplies. Included in the piles of paint tubes and brushes are several easels that she uses to prop up her canvases. It struck me that we also need an “easel” to hold us up. I thought about how easels stand at an angle, and how the painting “leans” back on the wood for support.

I pondered this word picture as I left the house yesterday  to pick Laurel up from her homeschool P.E. class. While I waited outside the gym in the van, I closed my eyes and imagined myself leaning on God. Only instead of hunching over a cane, I now pictured myself reclining, like a painting rests on its easel.

To do a little “field study,” I pushed the automatic recline button on the side of the driver’s seat and went for a little ride. I could feel the weight of my body shift as the seat angled back. I’m sure I looked a bit strange reclining there in the parking lot. (“Mom, WHAT are you doing?” was Laurel’s response when she got to the van.)  But as I lay back in my seat, I began to feel relaxed. Yes, even…peaceful. 

I noticed that the arm rests were also supporting my arms, and that’s when it really hit me. The very capable arms of Jesus Himself form the easel, and we lean back into His strong chest. THIS is the place of peace. This is the secret of shalom. HE is the easel propping us up, holding us in place and keeping us close!

So that is my report on what I believe God was trying to teach me from Isaiah 26:3. I’m reading a wonderful little daily devotional book called Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young. I really like the way she writes in first person, as if God were speaking directly to us (which He is). I thought I’d attempt to do the same as I close:

I am the Easel, and it is My job to support and hold you up. You are the canvas. The circumstances of your life are the varied colors on the canvas. Allow Me to frame these circumstances with My perspective. Your job is to lean on Me, resting your full weight on Me. When you do this, you demonstrate your trust in Me. Perfect peace is not something you achieve. It is a gift I give you as you rest safely and securely in My arms. You do the leaning. Let Me do the keeping.