Peace Like a River

“O that thou hadst hearkened to My commandments! then had thy peace been as a river” (Isaiah 48:18).

The peace of God is a higher thing than comfort, a deeper thing than joy, and a more solid thing than rest. While my comforts may be diminished, my joy be disturbed, and my rest be broken, my peace still flows as a river.

Interrupt the flow of a river, and it is no longer a river. You may dam up its waters, but you only make them stagnant, for their freshness and their fruitfulness depend upon the continuity of their changeless flow. A flowing river is the perfect scriptural illustration of the peace God provides: “Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river” (Isaiah 66:12). Fittingly, “the troubled sea” illustrates the state of those who have no relationship with God, and therefore have no peace (Isaiah 57:20,21).

—W. Rickards