“You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you. Trust in the LORD forever, because in the LORD, the LORD himself, is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26.3-4).

Mental health is a popular subject today. It remains elusive for so many. People are anxious, fearful, scattered, and confused. They want peace and quiet. They want confidence and happiness. Where do we find a deep, settled state of mind? It is the LORD who keeps the mind of dependent, trusting believers in perfect peace. “The LORD will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace” (Psalm 29.11). 

Why do unbelieving people struggle with mental health issues? It is because they have no real answers to ultimate questions about one’s eventual death and subsequent judgment. Unbelieving people may think about the concept of God, but quickly put such thoughts out of mind. They work at constantly distracting themselves with temporal things. Often, I would visit a home as a pastor and find that people would not turn off the television. It was always on, a cacophony of background noise. “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked’” (Isaiah 57.20-21).

However, God promises believers perfect peace. I experience peace in proportion to my dependence and trust. The more I understand how He has taken my sin away and granted me a righteous standing as His son, the more peaceful I am. I am accepted in the Beloved One, Jesus Christ. While I cannot hear God speak to me, His Spirit bears witness with my spirit. He convinces me that I am His child (Romans 8.16). 

It is in Christ that I have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when I heard the gospel or when I first believed that Jesus died for my sins, was buried, and rose again to grant me righteousness and victory over eternal death. The Holy Spirit indwells me. He is my assurance and comfort. He is “the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory” (see Ephesians 1.13-14). 

Jesus is able to keep me from falling. He is faithful even when I am not. He began a good work in me; He will complete it. When I am weak, He is my everlasting rock. When trials come, I know He is working all things together for my good. When I face temptation, He is able to help me. When I am anxious, I cast those anxieties on Christ who cares for me. The LORD keeps me in perfect peace.