Pauline emo...Philippians 4:4-7

Philippians 4:4-7

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! let your gentleness be evident to all. the Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peae of God, which transcends understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

There are three commands in this passage..."Rejoice in the Lord always...Let your gentleness be evident to all...Do not be anxious about anything." So we are responsible for obedience in at least three areas. It is not at all unique to think of Paul givine us commands, this is how he rolls. What is interesting, is that all three (gentleness could be argued) do not deal so much with actions, but rather with or emotions. "Rejoice", "Anxious", "Gentleness". I think that often we think of Christianity in terms of action, and we need to do that. However, it is also a responsibility to emotions and affections. Notice in 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, the first 3 verses speak about surrendering our bodies to the flame...perhaps the ultimate action, but still not having love. What is missing? Affection. Both action and affection are needed. This leads to another question...how do we control our affections? Are they not primarily reactions or responses to situations etc? I would suggest yes...And I think the little descripter in verse 5 opens our eyes to reality no matter what the variables are...the Lord is near. If I really had a correct picture of the beauty, of the grandeur of the power, of the majesty, of the love etc etc of the Lord, and understood that He is near, physically, emotionally, socially, I think that would change my response to any aspect of reality. Perhaps that is why Paul commands us to offer up prayers and petitions to deal with anxiety, it is part of the journey towards awareness that the Lord is near.

Father, I pray that You would remind me constantly today that You are near, that You are present that You care that You are intimately concerned with what is going on here and everywhere. I love You Father...How great You are!!!