Thursday, July 30, 2026
The Lord is Near
Devotional thoughts Thursday, July 30, 2026 Philippians 4 the Lord is near. It has been said that what we are in private is what we really are. C. S. Lewis noted if that if you have rats in your cellar, “You are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding.” When worrying circumstances disturb our peace they are like the rats in the cellar. When something surprises us such as an unwelcome circumstance, then the problem of worry and anxiety suddenly surfaces. The issue is whether we view the Lord as near or the crisis as nearer. Lorelle and I went to bed. Very soon after there was unmistakable shotgun shots. Two of them. To me it sounded like they were from our front driveway. Very close. I looked out the front windows carefully but couldn’t see anyone. Five cars went past in a close convoy. But still nothing. I expected police but there were none. No strange cars parked 🚗 in the street. On Sunday 19 July I texted the neighbours whether they had heard anything; “ Yes we did. Not sure where it was coming from but seemed close out the back I think.” It is surprising how quickly one can move from faith in God and yet so quickly have our peace unsettled by an unexpected, sudden, momentary circumstance. However frightening it may be. Here we find one of the ways Christianity is unique among the world’s religions: It claims that Jesus lives inside us by his Spirit and remakes us into his character (Romans 8:29). When he promises peace that is “not as the world gives” (John 14:27), he means that his peace transforms us despite our circumstances. Philippians 4:1-7 ESV Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. [2] I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. [3] Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. [4] Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. [5] Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; [6] do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. [7] And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4 is about forgetting the intense distress in the immensity of the divinity. F W Boreham writes “Immensity is magnificent medicine. That is one reason—if we may let the cat out of the bag—why the doctors send us to the seaside. We forget the tiddley-winking in the contemplation of the tremendous. We lose life's shallow worries in the vision of unplumbed depths. … The tendency of life is to drift among small things—small anxieties, small pleasures, small ideas, and small talk. He is a very wise physician indeed who can prescribe for us a tonic of big things. F W Boreham, ‘A Tonic of Big Things,’ The Luggage of Life. Euodia and Syntyche may be arguing over teacups creating their storms at the church at Philippi but the Lord is near. If you say their names slowly you get the idea of the divisions that Australia’s churches experience: you Odia. You stink! Sin touchey! But that may be eisagesis reading into the text something that isn’t really there. But these ladies were creating storms in teacups. Similar storms once produced such anxiety in me that I felt a great need to resign from one church as pastor. I forgot that the Lord is at hand! He is Near! Perhaps the term “near” is eschatological referring to the second coming of Christ? In the previous section of scripture Paul had reminded the Philippians and us that the second coming of Christ was always near. Philippians 3:20-21 ESV But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, [21] who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. But yet whether His coming is close in time or far off in time, the Lord is always near. He is able to subject all things to Himself anyway, although we await the final subjection of all things to Himself at His return. The Psalm that best expresses the nearness of God to His people is Psalm 46:1-11 ESV God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. [2] Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, [3] though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah [4] There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. [5] God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. [6] The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. [7] The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah [8] Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. [9] He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. [10] "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" [11] The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah Warren Wiersbe has commented on this psalm Verses 2–3: God is our refuge, meaning we do not need to fear. Verses 4–7: God is our strength, meaning we do not need to faint. Verses 8–11: God is our help, meaning we do not need to fret. He is a Refuge He is like the River that supplies our needs constantly (the Holy Spirit indwells us). Be still and know that He is God. The apostle Paul wants you to know the same thing: the Lord is near. Therefore don’t be anxious about anything, pray about everything ! The Lord is near. As Martin Luther in his extreme danger at the commencement of the Reformation in Europe turned these words of Psalm 46 into the beautiful hymn God is our Refuge and Strength Let goods and kindreds go This mortal life also the body they may kill: God's truth abideth still; his kingdom is forever! The little troubles should fade when compared to the greatness of our God who is near. The Lord is near. He is at hand.
