"You will keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed upon You, because he trusts in You"
Isaiah 26:3
Last week we held our church Vacation Bible School in a local park. It was my joy and challenge to teach first and second graders. The joy part was the open hearts and energy of these young ones, the challenge was to keep their attention, especially outdoor in a very busy park.
On one occasion I was making an extremely important point and it seemed all the children were tracking with me. A girl raised her hand and I called on her and waited for a deep heartfelt question. I didn't get a question, but a comment, she pointed to the left of our group and told us that a dog over there just went potty. Every head turned, some laughed, some said gross, and I lost all of them. The girl wasn't trying to distract, or cause the other children to stumble, she was being a first grader and her attention was drawn away, her mind was not stayed. Frankly we expect that from young children in a busy park, and the dog was pretty big!
I have to wonder if the Lord looks at us like we are first and second graders. We are so easily and quickly distracted and drawn away from being stayed upon Him. It can be by trials or joys, but it seems far to simple for us to turn away and lose our focus on the Lord.
Stayed means to be fixed or established, to rest upon or lean on. The Lord's promise is to keep us in His perfect peace when we are stayed upon Him. Have you been distracted? Has your attention been drawn away from the Lord? Set your focus back on the One who brings perfect peace.
