Don't Be Anxious

[Christsfreeservant]

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7 NASB1995)​

Sometimes in our lives there are circumstances which are out of our control which are not good, which are not pleasant, and which are even hurtful, but we have no power over them. For they involve other people and their actions and their behaviors which are not good. We wish things were different. We hold out hope that they can change. But God never promised us that life would be easy. In fact, he promised us that the narrow way to God, which few travel, is hard, and we will face persecutions and rejections for our faith.

But we are not to let these circumstances get the best of us, but we must trust the Lord with our lives and with our circumstances at all times. And he will walk us through them, one step and one situation at a time. And he will give us the strength we need to endure, and the wisdom to know what to do and what to say or to not say. For God allows good in our lives as well as he allows trials and tribulations to test our faith. So if God allows it, we must trust him through it, whatever it is, whenever it takes place in our lives.

And for us to have a “gentle spirit,” what should that look like? Was Jesus spirit considered gentle? For he is our model. He is our example. Well, the Greek word here is epieikés, which means gentle, reasonable, forbearing, fair, equitable, just, sensible, rational, appropriate, and moderate. And if someone is reasonable, he has sound judgment, which should be for the good of others, as God defines good. It is judgment which is suitable and proper in the circumstances, in accordance with wisdom and prudence.

So “gentle” does not mean lacking in backbone, and being a coward, and backing down from the truth in order to not offend anyone. This is not about going soft on sin and tolerating deliberate and habitual sin and rebellion in the lives of those professing faith in Jesus Christ. For what do the Scriptures teach? They say that we are to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness for what they are and that we are to judge blatant and unrepentant sin within the church so that the whole body is not infected with such rebellion.

So, again, Jesus is our example to follow. And he did not compromise truth and righteousness in order to spare the feelings of those addicted to sin. He was gentle with those lacking in knowledge of the truth when he spoke with them about their need to deny self, die to sin daily, and to follow him in walks of obedience to his commands. But for the Bible scholars and the rulers in the temple and those who taught the Scriptures but who were living hypocritical lives in secret sin, his words had more force to them, for sure.

So, a gentle spirit must not be translated as refusing to speak the truth to the people that they need to hear about their need to die to sin and to walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands as necessary components of faith in Jesus Christ which saves us from our sins and which promises us eternal life with God. For the Scriptures teach if we are still making sin our practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

But when we speak the truth, in love, to the people, especially to those still living in addiction to sin, warning them of the consequences of continued sin against the Lord, we are not going to be well liked and well received by many people. We will not be popular. We will not have many friends. And we will have people opposing us and fighting against us, and even falsely accusing us of what we did not say and of what we did not do, because they want to try to discredit us so that no one will listen to us.

But we are to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving we are to let our requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. So we cannot let these trials and tribulations bring us down and make us afraid. We cannot control other people and what they will do to us or say about us. So we just have to give it all over to the Lord and trust him to work it all out for our good.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-39; Matt 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; John 16:33; John 17:14; Acts 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Eph 6:10-20; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

Don’t Be Anxious
An Original Work / May 5, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love