During the 1984 American presidential campaign, David Hartman of ABC News held an extended interview with President Ronald Reagan who was running for a second term. Hartman said Americans were frightened because negotiations with the Soviet Union had broken down. Reagan countered that the nation was actually safer because of his Peace Through Strength policy.

“How do you prove it to them?” asked Hartman.

“The proof is several years ago the United States had allowed its own defensive strength to decline to the point that you could look and say we weren’t too far from a point of weakness in which the enemy could be tempted because we didn’t have the strength.”¹

Reagan went on to explain that weakness invites the enemy to attack, but strength deters our foes. He advocated peace through strength.

This is a basic truth in life. If an animal is weak, a predator will pounce. If our immune system is weak, it invites infections. Similarly, if our spiritual life is weak, it gives Satan an opening. That’s why the Bible tells us 33 times to “be strong.”

Three of those occasions are in a single verse: “‘Be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:4, emphasis added).

The Bible also tells us, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10, emphasis added). Paul commanded Timothy to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1, emphasis added).

Be strong and work! Be strong in the Lord’s power! Be strong in the Savior’s grace!

In your spiritual life and in your mental life, you can have peace through strength. When you determine to be strong in the Lord with your mind stayed on Him, He will bolster you with perfect peace and strength.

Stay Together

We can’t do that in a vacuum. Do you remember the saying, “There’s strength in numbers”? The Bible says, “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). Jesus might have been thinking of that verse when He said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).

When it comes to Isaiah 26:3-4 and keeping our thoughts stayed on God, it helps if we’re involved in a community of faith, a church, a small group, or a Bible study. I’ve noticed in recent years how many men need other men with whom they can share their hearts and the lessons God is showing them in the Scriptures. That’s why more and more men’s Bible studies are taking off across the country.

The same is true for women—and for teenagers and young adults. Millennials and Gen Z are experiencing pockets of revival on campuses and in church groups. No generation has faced the moral threats these young people are encountering.

We found out during COVID-19 just how much we need each other. Sometimes we need a little reinforcement to help us remain strong. One student wrote, “Recently, I took a university philosophy class that focused on topics relevant to today’s society, but that strayed from a Biblical way of thinking. The class discussions focused heavily on sexuality, marriage, abortion etc., and honestly, I tended to leave the class feeling quite disheartened. Fortunately, I gave these emotions to God but was also able to bring them up for discussion in my Christian community and church group…. Suddenly I realised the importance a Christian community has in my life.”²

I want to encourage you to join—even to lead—a group of peers that enables you to keep your thoughts stayed on Christ. By staying together with other believers you’ll be better able to stay your mind on Christ and draw His strength into your heart.

Stay Strong

Some things, however, you have to do personally and privately. Only you can dedicate your mind to being stayed on Christ, which provides daily strength. The psalmist said, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1) Later in the same psalm, we read, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart” (verse 14).

In his book about spiritual disciplines, Donald Whitney wrote, “Spiritual Disciplines are those practices found in Scripture that promote spiritual growth among believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are the habits of devotion and experiential Christianity that have been practiced by the people of God since biblical times.”³

Some of these essential spiritual disciplines include fellowship with Him, trusting His timing, and allowing Him to work within you to prepare you for what He has ahead for you. We need to develop patterns of prayer, Bible study, periods of quietness, moments at the Lord’s Supper when we contemplate His love for us, and the personal singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to uplift our praises to the Lord. Some people include fasting and journaling.

The apostle Peter said, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble” (2 Peter 1:10).

Stay Ready

By staying together and staying strong, you’ll stay ready for anything. We don’t know what will happen on any given day, but we can keep our mind stayed on Him every day. Staying our mind on the Lord includes thinking often about the moment when the trumpet sounds, the angel shouts, and the dead rise from their graves and tombs. One day we’ll shout to one another: “He’s back!”

Only then will we experience unbroken, unbounded, undisturbed peace—perfect peace or shalom, shalom. Yes, we can experience it now by staying our minds on Him. But we’ll experience it fully when we actually set our eyes on Him. Imagine it!

Jesus connected the concept of perfect peace with His return when He said: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself” (John 14:1-3).

Those with perfect peace have untroubled hearts, and it’s connected to the impending joy of our Lord’s return. In his book about the Second Coming, Dr. R. A. Torrey said he was “an optimist because [I have] deeply pondered and [believe] with [my] whole heart what the Bible teaches concerning the Second Coming of Christ. If [I] did not believe that, [I] could not be but a pessimist…. The truth of our Lord’s Return is the most precious truth the Bible contains. It fills the heart of the believer with joy, and girds him with strength for the battle.”⁴

In other words, if you’re ready for the Lord to return, you’re ready to tackle every day with the strength and peace God gives. You’ll be ready for victory. Ready with an answer to those who confide in you or who confront you. Ready for the tasks God assigns.

Peace through strength from your omnipotent Lord!

Isaiah 26:3-4 are important verses for us to memorize and put into practice. Why don’t you read them aloud one last time: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.”

Stay together. Stay strong. Stay ready. And may the Lord fulfill in you these words from Frances Ridley Havergal’s great hymn, “Like a River Glorious.”

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed;

Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

Sources:

¹Ronald Reagan, “Interview With David Hartman of ABC News on the 1984 Presidential Election,” January 30, 1984.
²Kim Spence, “Should I Even Go? The Importance of Church for Young Adults,” Faith Beyond Belief, August 23, 2022.
³Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2014), 4.
⁴R. A. Torrey, The Return of the Lord Jesus (Los Angeles, CA: The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, 1913), 7-8.