Does Isaiah 26:3 promise us a life free from anxiety?

Peace of mind. A life free from worry and anxiety. Days that are free of mental turmoil.

It seems that almost all of us are looking for those things these days, and there is a verse in the Bible which, at first glance at least, appears to be a promise from God offering us exactly that – perfect peace of mind. This statement is found in Isaiah 26:3: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

You’ve likely seen this verse around. It is a favorite for greeting cards and home décor, and understandably so— it has a very encouraging tone to it. But have we been understanding this verse correctly in the way we’ve traditionally interpreted it? Often we read this verse and we take it to mean that we can have undisturbed and continuous peace of mind in our lives if we will simply trust God and keep him in the forefront of our thoughts. If this interpretation is correct, it leads us to a potentially unsettling personal problem — probably no one among us experiences undisturbed and continuous peace of mind in our lives! Does that mean we are all just miserably bad at trusting God?

Before we settle on that conclusion to the matter, we should ask ourselves if we’ve been interpreting this verse correctly. After encountering this verse again a few days ago in my daily Bible reading, I’ve started to think that this verse is actually saying something somewhat different than what we’ve typically thought. Allow me to share two observations that have led me to this conclusion.

First, Isaiah 26:1 states that the verses coming after it are part of a song which will be sung “in that day.” In fact, the phrase “in that day” is a very common one in the surrounding context (24:21, 25:9, 27:1, 27:2, 27:12). What is this “day” that Isaiah is talking about? According to the context, it is a day in which the Lord of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem (24:23), a day in which God will take away the reproach of his people from all the Earth (25:8), and a day in which the enemies of Israel will be defeated (much of chapters 25 and 26). These statements are describing nothing less than the future kingdom of Jesus on this earth! Since the whole context of this passage is looking forward to that future time, we have to consider that the “peace“ mentioned in 26:3 might not yet be achieved and thus might not yet be available.

The second observation centers on the word “peace” itself. This word is the somewhat familiar Hebrew term shalom. This word can refer to peace of mind, but it’s range of meaning is much wider than simply that. It can also express ideas like prosperity, health, and safety. Its meaning in a given verse has to be determined by the context. In this case, the next usage of the word “peace“ in verse 12 is rather informative, in my opinion. There, the word seems to mean something like “safety” because the people’s adversaries are defeated (v. 11) and no one but God rules over them (v. 13).

Given these observations, I think the NET Bible has a more accurate translation for Isaiah 26:3: “You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith, for they trust in you.” That may not go quite as nicely on home décor, but it does seem to be a bit more accurate. Even with this translation, keep two observations in mind. First, the phrase “the people” does not focus on individuals but on God’s people as a whole. Second, this verse is still part of a song that will be sung “in that day”—the time of Christ’s future kingdom on earth. Thus, the safety spoken of here is not yet fully realized for God’s people, so it shouldn’t be taken as a promise that we could claim for ourselves today.

So if Isaiah 26:3 is not telling us how we should go about pursuing peace of mind, what other passages should we turn into instead for that information? For one, I would point you to the example of the Psalms. In many psalms, a heart-broken person cries out to God in his anguish, sometimes being very blunt and descriptive about his feelings. Yet these authors eventually turn their thoughts back toward God’s promises and find renewed peace and comfort in them. So be fully honest with God about your thoughts and feelings—vent your spleen to him, so to speak—and then review his promises once again. Clear the air with God and then let his promises be the atmosphere from which you breathe.

And of course, Philippians 4:6-7 speaks very directly to this whole subject of peace of mind: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Pray to God, make your requests, and thank him for the many blessings that you already have. I have always found that the more I thank God, the deeper my peace of mind becomes. Yet even these verses are not a promise that we can stare down anxiety once-and-for-all and never face it again! They simply tell us how to respond whenever anxiety comes knocking at our doors once more.

So the next time you battle anxiety, don’t heap false guilt on yourself because of a misunderstanding of all things! Follow the example of the Psalms, take the advice of Philippians 4:6-7, and worship God for his promise of a coming day when fears and worries will assault us no more!