Spontaneous Commentary is a brief Bible Commentary by Rob Robinson on a section of Scripture that is written without notes or other commentaries. Rob simply comments on the verse of scripture as the Holy Spirit speaks to him on each particular verse.
Philippians 4:4-8 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things arelovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
I remember the first time that I read verse 4 of Philippians chapter 4 as a young Christian. “Rejoice in the Lord always…” I thought to myself, how can a person “Always rejoice?” There are some moments in life that are just too painful to rejoice over anything.
As the years passed and I experienced more and more of those painful moments, through each hurtful experience the Lord was always very close to me. I always felt as though the Lord knew exactly what I was feeling in every painful moment. Each time after the trial was over, I discovered that I was better off for having gone through those dark valley’s than I was before I entered them.
In future trials, although there was no place in me to rejoice during the trial, I looked ahead to the end of the experience knowing that there was going to be great blessing when the matter was concluded. I remembered that in former trials, when the storm had subsided and the sun once again came through the clouds, I was better for having weathered the storm and knew greater of the Lord’s love for me.
It was then that I began to understood just what the Holy Spirit was saying to me in Philippians 4:1. That I could rejoice in the trial as I looked forward to what that experience was going to accomplish inside of me. Knowing that good would always come from each bad experience, I could always rejoice. Not just in moments of genuine pleasure, but also in the depth of despair.
This became the anthem that I played over and over in my mind at each deep trial and every lonely valley. I knew that every difficult trial would soon be over and that I would find myself arriving at a shining new day with more hope than I had before it all began. I realized that this must have been the intention of Philippians 4:1 for each one of us. That we would understand and rejoice ahead of time in the knowledge that the Lord had a truly good end intended for all the difficulties of our life. I hope that these thoughts minister to your heart in your next trial.
Philippians 4:5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Gentleness is a character trait that is greatly missing in the behavior of most people today, myself included. We are a society that is quick tempered, fast to judge, and very often wrong on both accounts. There was a certain gentleness about Jesus that captivated people and made them want to be near Him. When He was provoked, He did not respond. When misaligned, He trusted His reputation to the Father, caring not what men thought of Him.
“Let your gentleness be known to all men”, speaks of not only being a gentle person, but letting the fact of your gentleness be made know to all men. In other words, this is not a person who is gentle once in awhile, but someone who is so consistently gentle, that over the course of many years they have developed a reputation for being gentle to everyone.
If it were not possible to gain control over one’s temper and to obtain a gentle spirit, then the Holy Spirit would not have placed this verse in the Bible. The fact that these words are here means that it is possible to become more gentle than we are now, and to continue to do so consistently over time. Perhaps the reason that there are not more persons who have “a gentleness know to all men”, as Philippians 4:5 speaks of, is because many of us do not knw that it is possible to improve our gentleness as we practice it every day.
Philippians 4:6-7 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
There is a wonderful little formula here for peace that is often passed over quickly. Everyone has their anxious moments. It seems to be a mark of today’s society that because we are such busy people and have so much to try and cram into each day, that we are often very anxious. Many long and sleepless nights can be attributed to the stress and anxiety we feel during our days, and the inability to shut everything off in our minds when it is time to turn in for the night.
Here in verses 6 and 7 the Holy Spirit has a simple method for overcoming stress and anxiety:
Instead of worrying about everything, pray about everything. That’s it. Transfer all your anxious thoughts into wonderful prayers to the Lord just telling Him everything that is on your mind and how you fell about each concern that you have. You will find that as you simply talk to the Lord about your problems and ask for His help, that almost instantaneously the stress and anxiety will begin to melt away. Perhaps this is why Isaiah called Jesus the “Wonderful Counselor”, just a few minutes with the Lord telling Him about all of your problems can do wonders for your mental state.
The Lord did not create us to bear the kind of stress that human beings bear today. He meant for us to take all of our heavy burdens to Him and unload them on His broad and capable shoulders.
We have a hight priest who has passed through the heavens and ever lives to make intercession for us. When we are felling weak or stressed, He is able to sustain us and carry us through every experience of life.
I remember a fellow telling me one time that he could not become a Christian because Christians were just people who needed “A Crutch” to get by in life, and he didn’t need anyone’s help, thank you very much.
My answer to him was that Jesus is not “A Crutch”, Jesus is a stretcher, an ambulance and a hospital with more than enough beds for all of us. The Lord wants to be everything we need in all the stressful moments of life, and he does not apologize for that. How wonderful it is to realize that we don’t have to go through life alone, tackling all the difficulties by ourselves. Jesus loves to rescue us over and over. Every time we call upon Him, He delights in helping us. So, ” Be anxious for nothing, just pray and take it to the Lord instead… and then the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds…”
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
Finally, having learned how to rejoice in every situation, beginning to develop a more gentle spirit, praying instead of being anxious, we should remember to focus on the following positive things in our life:
Truth, Nobility, Justice, purity, loveliness, good reports, virtuous things and those things worthy of praise.
It is a scientific fact that our minds are basically very sophisticated computers. As with any computer the function of the machine is only going to be as good as the software that is installed on it. When we input good data into our minds, the end result will be a well functioning mind, which contributes to a well functioning body and a very happy person.
The things that we expose our eyes, and ears to are permanently installed into our minds. Even 50 or 60 years later when a person reaches the twilight of their life, they can still vividly remember people, places and events in perfect clarity and detail.
When we place garbage into our minds, these things take away from our soul. When we expose our eyes and ears to uplifting and beautiful things, we find that the human soul is built up and increased. Basically it is “Garbage in, Garbage out.”
Remember to daily think about the truth of God’s Word as you read it and meditate upon it. Take time alone to read a few verses and ask the Lord what they really mean and how you can apply them to your own life. The time that you take in meditating on God’s Word is not simply to learn, but to experience Him and enjoy fellowship with Him. Jesus waits and waits for you to just want to be with Him. Imagine that! The Lord of the Universe is waiting right now for you to take some special time away from your busy schedule to be with Him…
May the Lord bless your day as you seek Him with all of your heart.
Rob Robinson
