Five Words to Get You Through Today

Every Wednesday morning our team comes together for a team devo—a time devoted to God’s Word and prayer. Nothing formal nor lengthy, just bringing our office chairs together and then talking about a bible verse or story, our muni-munis on it and how we can live out what we learned, and then we pray for one another, our operations and projects, and other teams. A good 30 minutes that anchor us to what—to WHO—matters most. This is one of our “in our going” about our daily lives, we follow Jesus and sharpen one another in His ways. Last time it was not even a full bible verse, but it was so, so rich these five words have been getting me past through the ups and downs of my current season.

The Lord is at hand.

Philippians 4:5b

Two things came out when we reflected on what this could mean—Jesus’ presence is near, and Jesus’ return is coming soon.

Jesus’ Near Presence

Jesus is near to us, not far, not distant. “At hand” means “near” or “close by.” Literally, being so close it’s within an arm’s reach, right “at your hand” or “close enough to touch.” The question is, am I leaning to Him enough? We found it interesting what the play of words meant to us—He leaves an “arm’s reach” distance because He does not force Himself on us, but He is definitely near enough that if we just lean in, we can find Him just waiting for us, near enough for Him to hear our breaths (buntung hininga) that speak volumes, and for us to hear even His gentle whispers. If we choose to lean in.

Jesus’ Return is Coming Soon

Well yeah, the bible was written thousands of years ago and it has since stated that the Lord is at hand, a phrase that can also mean that Jesus’ return is coming soon. Could it be another thousands of years? Hundreds? One? How soon is soon, actually? The bible also says that it’s not for us to find out when exactly Jesus is coming back, but that we can trust that He will and that knowing this is more than enough to have a sure hope, a certainty that enables us to look beyond the hardships of today and press on in doing good no matter what.

No Matter What

What are you going through today? The Lord is at hand—He is close to touch, His promise of return holds true. Our prayer is that as we choose to lean to Him, we will feel Jesus’ manifest presence today and even hear His gentle whispers to us. We pray that as we choose to lean on Him, we can look beyond the hardships of today and keep living lives of integrity and faithfulness.

As we recognize that the Lord is at hand, may we be able to choose to not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let our requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. May whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and anything worthy of praise be what we feed our minds. May we live out what we have learned, received, heard, and seen done good by those who live in submission to Christ. May God’s peace be with us. Philippians 11:5b–9