At Hand

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus. Phil 4:4-7 (NKJV)

In the midst of a passage that deals with prayer, Paul interjects this thought: "Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand." I think that the word "gentleness" is somewhat misleading and does not effectively communicate the Author's point. In the RJV Bible (Ronald Joseph Version) which does not exist, it would read more like this:"May you have a great reputation, because of your even-tempered appropriate decision-making ability." "Ok, I know...it doesn't flow every well, but at least you get the point." Believers need to be known for their sound judgment. As if the Lord is at hand making said judgments!

How much would I change in my decision-making process if God had a greater voice...no, make that, if God had the final say in all my decisions? How many problems would that solve? How many prayer requests would never have needed to exist in the first place? How much heart-burn and how many head-aches would have been avoided. Maybe it would be prudent to make my decisions as if "the Lord is at hand."

I have observed that many of our prayer requests are a direct result of poor decisions. The Bible instructs us to stay out of debt. To avoid yoking ourselves unequally with sinners. To make an effort to pass down our faith to our children. To pay our taxes and submit to authorities. The list of wisdom to make appropriate decisions pours out of pages of the Bible. Why not obey the dictates of scripture? It will help us make wise decisions. It will help us avoid many a pit-fall. It will remove much of the worry and stress associated with life. Ultimately, you will be recognized as an even-tempered individual who makes great decisions.

Prayer: "Dear Heavenly Father, I know that my wisdom is as foolishness compared to Yours. Therefore, I would rather walk in Your wisdom rather than my own. Help me to follow the clear directives of scripture, and help my decisions to become more Spirit led than led by the impulses of my flesh. May You be glorified and honored by the choices that I make--and may people know that You are always at hand. Amen"