The Lord Is Near

Philippians 4:5 When we are angry or resentful, it’s time to recall Paul’s words to the people of Philippi and let our gentle side be seen

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“Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

God loves to steer Barb and I into new situations that teach us lessons and demonstrate His love to us. As you may know from our previous posts, this week was difficult. Barb had abdominal surgery late Saturday night, spent all day Sunday and most of Monday in the hospital, and has been convalescing at home with megadoses of antibiotics that made her feel awful.

Most of you know me as a pretty mellow guy, but I have to admit that I was quite angry and resentful early in the week. It wasn’t about having to cut our vacation short; seeing how much pain Barb was in, I was anxious than she was to get home as quickly as possible. No, it was after she came home from the hospital.

I’m kind of her caretaker most of the time anyway, but now she was totally dependent on me. That would have been fine, but she was confused from the medications, second-guessing the doctors, and worrying a lot. The result? I was getting conflicting requests from Barb and that was driving me nuts. If you remember reading Barb’s post from the other day, that’s herbrain on painkillers, powerful antibiotics, and adrenalin! That resulted in snarky comments and sulking on my part, not something I’m proud to admit.

I prayed a lot Monday night through Wednesday, asking God to remove my anger and irritation, and replace it with calm acceptance and love. He obviously heard me and acted on my prayer, because I started calming down. When Barb would ask for something, I’d either just do it or ask as politely ask I could if she really wanted that as it conflicted with an earlier request. That defused a lot of my anger, and it focused her thinking.

Paul was absolutely on target with this verse. When faced with a choice to show anger, resentment, and irritation or to look at every situation with love and kindness, always let the “gentle spirit” show through. God is happier with you, you’re happier, and the people you are dealing with appreciate your gentleness. The Lord is very near to us — IN us — and He wants us to demonstrate His gentle spirit to all we meet. Whether those people are our closest companions or total strangers makes no difference.

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Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Lord, I know that I will always run into difficult situations in this life where nothing seems to make sense, and my earthly response is to become angry, even if only for a short time. When I get into these situations, remind me that although I am temporarily unhappy, having a good relationship with You will bring me an eternity of joy! Rather than be upset, let me be a living example of Your loving Spirit by demonstrating my gentleness and love to everyone. This I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, my savior and Lord, AMEN.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.