Knowing That the Lord Is at Hand

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
—Philippians 4:4–6

Notice the phrase “the Lord is at hand.” It is sandwiched between reasonableness and no anxiety. Be reasonable, because the Lord is at hand monitoring your thoughts and speech. And don’t be anxious, because the Lord is at hand protecting you and providing everything you need. Knowing that the Lord is at hand is key to both things—being reasonable and not being anxious.

We have warrant here for thinking that reasonableness is one side of the coin and not being anxious is the other side of the same coin. Reasonable persons are not anxious in the context of knowing that the Lord is at hand, and persons who are not anxious are free to be reasonable. And the coin itself is comprised of the precious metal called “the Lord is at hand.”

When a coin is made of “the Lord is at hand,” what can be read on the face is reasonableness and lack of anxiety.