THE LORD IS AT HAND

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.  Let your moderation be known unto all men.  The Lord is at hand.  Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:4-8).

 

To me, this passage of scripture is one that is useful to remember every day.  It’s like the pocket knife that many guys throw in their pocket before they leave the house just because it’s useful in many situations and you never know when you’re going to need it.  With the many pressures that life heaps on us daily we need something solid to anchor our soul to when we are tried and when things are not going how we expected them to.

 

The Apostle Paul starts by reminding us to “rejoice in the Lord always,” and to emphasize the importance of this he repeats it a second time: “…and again I say, Rejoice.”  It is quite natural for us to become discouraged by circumstances in our lives that are less than satisfactory.  I know I prefer a calm sea and smooth sailing any day to stormy seas and doubtful outcomes.  That’s why we must be reminded to rejoice.  We must learn and understand that the joy of the Lord is our strength.  Magnifying the Lord means literally to make Him bigger in every situation; because when we make Him bigger, our trials become smaller.  We are in the Lord’s hands at all times and He is working everything together for good in the end.  Yes, we may have to endure some storms, but when the Lord is done working His purpose in us we can look back and see His hand in it all.  The Psalmist tells us, “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24).  Whether this day is a “good” day, or a “bad” day, makes no difference: the Lord has made each one and we are to rejoice in each one just the same.  Sometimes our praise is jubilant and enthusiastic, but sometimes it comes through tears and heartache.  Either way, it is the calm assurance that God is there whatever our plight.  Christians are those who walk by faith, not by sight; so we cannot allow outward circumstances to govern our attitude or our behavior. 

 

The next thing that Paul says is, “Let your moderation be known unto all men.”  The dictionary definition of moderation is, “The avoidance of excess or extremes, especially in one’s behavior…”  The Greek word that this is translated from also conveys the idea of gentleness or mildness.  So, the idea here is to be easy going and not extreme in our reactions to things that confront us day by day.  Just how do we do that?  Paul answers that with the next phrase, “The Lord is at hand.”

 

We must always be aware and be assured that the Lord is always very near to us.  “At hand” means within reach.  He is always with us!  The eyes of the Lord are always on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers.  No matter what is going on in our life, we can be sure that the Lord is aware of it, and aware of the effect it is having on us. 

 

Mark chapter 4 tells of the apostles being once again out on the sea and encountering a great storm.  The storm was fierce enough that it was filling the boat with water and Jesus’ disciples – many of which were hardened seamen – were becoming frantic and feared for their lives.  Jesus was with them through it all, but He was in the rear of the ship fast asleep.  The disciples woke Him up and asked Him, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38).  This certainly sounds familiar.  We assume too often that when the Lord isn’t actively engaged in our life that He has checked out or “left the building.”  Worse yet, we are tempted to think He doesn’t care about our struggle.  This couldn’t be any further from the truth.  He is always present, He is always aware, and He always cares.  He may be “asleep,” but He is always “at hand.”  He could sleep through the storms because He knew His heavenly Father was always with Him and He had nothing to fear, and neither do we.     

 

The next thing that Paul tells us is, “…the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (v. 7).  There is a place in God where we can find perfect peace and quiet confidence when we are tried.  It is called “the secret place of the most High,” and, “the shadow of His wings.”  It is known as a refuge, a hiding place, a habitation, and a place where we may abide always.  This place is found in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  As we learn to abide in His presence and keep ourselves focused on Him, then we find a perfect peace that transcends all circumstances.  This peace can keep both our hearts (the seat of our emotions), and our minds (the seat of our reason and intellect), so that we are no longer blown about by either our emotions or our carnal reasoning.   

 

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (v. 8).  What we fill our minds with is important.  An old proverb says, “You are what you think,” and there is a lot of truth in this.  Our primary battlefield is in our minds.  That is where Satan attacks us and seeks to deceive us.  He plants the seed of a noxious plant in our thoughts hoping that it will germinate and become a root of bitterness that spreads and affects those around us.  To combat this we must fill our minds with the truth - with things honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, and praiseworthy.  When we do, then even in the worst situations we can be confident that God is still in control, that He loves us supremely, and that He is always “at hand.”