May 2, 2025 -- Philippians 4:5b-7 -- In what sense is the Lord near?

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The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:5b-7 ESV
 
That first sentence can also read, the Lord is near, physically. His Spirit lives in you. As was promised in John 14, where Jesus told His disciples when He ascended to heaven He’d give His followers the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Helper. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. The Holy Spirit teaches believers all things. The Holy Spirit, Who lived in Jesus’s humanity without measure, is the same Holy Spirit living in you. Always directing you to Jesus.
 
Then there is also the sense the Lord is near, that is, He is about to return to judge the living and the dead. Believers live with the glorious awareness that Jesus Christ is ready to return. He will judge the nations. He will execute His Father’s justice with such precision that every wrong will be set right. He is close, the trumpet will soon sound, and the Lord will descend. At that moment all battle weary soldiers of the cross of Jesus Christ will know the war against the sins of our own flesh, the battle against the enemy, and fighting the wicked cravings of the world and its rebellion against God will be terminated. Jesus will even put an end to death itself, the final enemy. Then all the wicked will be cast into hell. Their endless torments there will be fitting, suited to their venomous hatred of God in this life. Believers, those who rejoice in the Lord’s nearness, will be brought to the new heavens and the new earth to live in the glorious presence of radiant Savior.
 
It is the nearness of the Lord, in both senses, which keeps us from anxiety. We are not fearful about mending fences with those who are fellow Christians, but are prepared, in so much as it depends on us, to live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18). We are not worried; will Jesus love me? Our citizenship is already in heaven, and we await the Savior from there (Phil. 3:20). Whoever is in government, no matter how close or far from our values that government is, our confidence is not in human institutions, we know Jesus is the ruler (Psalm 2). Whatever might lead us to fearfulness is plunged beneath the assurance that Jesus is at hand.
 
Speak to Him. Share with Him all your fears. Preach to your soul your complete confidence in Him. Read the word so that your faith in Him grows commensurate with your Bible-fed knowledge of Him. Dear fellow believer, in this world you will have trouble, or persecution, in John 16:33 Jesus told His followers as much. The verses set before you today are not to be pulled out when you can’t find a parking space at near the entrance of the mall, or your online ordered product isn’t delivered on the exact day we demanded it; no! When your life is squeezed because you are holding onto Jesus with all your strength and the world despises your for it, know He is near. All wrongs, all sin, and all wickedness will be perfectly, eternally, answered by Christ the King. Now, go and serve Jesus.
 
Father in heaven I confess how unwillingly I suffer for the Name of Jesus. I hesitate to confess my sins. I dodge the compunction of the Holy Spirit, far more prepared to see the sins of others and thus obscuring my own reckless, faithless behavior. I am unwilling to own my part in conflicts with others, disobedient to the command in so much as it depends on me to be living at peace with all men. I avoid suffering for Jesus at work, or school, or in the public forums, not speaking up and confessing His Name. Father, forgive me. Lead me in the paths of righteousness and as You have promised, strengthen me by Your Holy Spirit so that in all my words, my deeds, and my associations I shine brightly for Christ my King. Spirit of Truth, remind me that the Lord is at hand and in such deep assurance help me to be renewed in my obedient walk with Jesus as I live, declaring His Name. Amen.
 
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