Training

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     I could usually tell when my mother was at the end of her rope.  That is, I knew when the last call had been issued.  I could tell by the tone of her voice.  When it became short and crisp with the pronunciation of my name, I knew that it was the "last call" and that it had to be heeded or suffer the consequences.  Sometimes parents use other methods such as pronouncing the full and formal name of the child.  When the middle name is included, you had better take heed.  God had a different way of making an emphasis.  Sometimes words were repeated to give a certain emphasis.  in Isaiah 6, we see the words, "Holy, Holy, Holy" which denotes the highest holiness that there is.  In the following verse, we have an example of a double emphasis.  Isaiah 26:3 says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."  The verse actually says, "Peace, peace" which does denote a "perfect" peace.  In the Hebrew, the word for perfect does not occur here.  It is just a repetition of the word for peace.  When God emphasizes a word, you should take note of it and see just why that is.  In this case, God is emphasizing that there is a perfect peace that can be acquired in this world.  It has a simple prescription and that is a person is to keep their minds focused, or stayed, upon the LORD.  Peace is not something you can find at every turn in your life.  The affairs of this world are continually chipping away at your own personal peace.  You may even find that you are having fewer peaceful days than you intended to have.  The old avenues of temptation, the world, the flesh and the devil are always trying to remove the peace that you have and to get you caught up in despair.  God was telling us in this particular verse of Scripture that if we are to have peace, then we need to have our lives focused upon Him in everything.  We just don't look to God and say how marvelous He is when the sun is shining and all is at rest.  We also look to God when trouble enters our lives.  So, if you are not finding that today or yesterday was a peaceful day, take a look at the LORD and focus your thoughts on Him in all things.  Trust in Him and you will find that you are in "Perfect Peace."