Let your considerate spirit be known to all men.
The Lord is near.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition 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 4:5-7

This letter to the Philippian Saint’s, was written by Paul while he was in chains; but he wasn’t abandoned in prison by his heavenly Father, he wrote:

The Lord is near.

The Lord is near to each one of His children, and through this knowledge, we can have peace the surpasses all comprehension, while also being reminded that with His nearness in mind, we should speak and act in the ways that please the Father who sees and hears all, and works in us to produce the fruits of the Spirit, which are:

…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

The Lord is near to us, so we can rest in His care, in the knowledge that whatever is happening in our lives, is being allowed or arranged by Him to form us to be more like Jesus. So,

be anxious about nothing,

Paul said “Let your considerate spirit be known to all men.”. The word “considerate”, comes from the Greek word “epieikēs”, this word is also translatable as “gentle”, and as Galatians 5 tells, gentleness is one of the fruits of the Spirit, it’s the manor of a Christian who is trusting in God’s work in others, rather than me thinking that I have to change them. So we’re told in Philippians 2:3-7

…doing nothing from selfish ambition or vain glory, but with humility of mind regarding one another as more important than yourselves, not merely looking out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Have this way of thinking in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of men.

Philippians 2:3-7

When we speak and act with a considerate/gentle spirit, people see Christ in us, instead of seeing our old man of the earthly flesh, who is supposed to be buried.

So one of the outcomes of faith in the Saint, is that it results in changing our disposition from being one which is anxiously emotional, or proud and overbearing in our speech, or from being driven or compelled by our zeal to see others come to the knowledge we hold to and love; but instead, we can be at peace, and speak in humility with gentleness and consideration toward the other persons, weighing our words by the Word of God, and Holy Spirits guidance, holding back from speaking, or sharing in gentle respectful response, instead of being quarrelsome.

Humility isn’t the condition of endearing myself to someone who I think knows less than me and has to learn, that’s pride; humility is a matter of honestly recognising that I’m totally insufficient and empty in myself, and that my only worth, is the robe of Christ’s righteousness that the Father has covered me with. Then I’ll be thinking of others as better than myself, and maybe then I’ll learn from them, instead of thinking they need to hear what I think I know.

This gentleness that Paul wrote of, is also mentioned again by him in his 2nd letter to Timothy:

And the Lord’s slave must not be quarrelsome,
but be kind to all,
able to teach,
patient when wronged,
with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition,
if perhaps God may give them repentance leading to the full knowledge of the truth,

2 Timothy 2:24-25

Even when there’s difference on Biblical doctrinal matters from someone else’s perspective, difference doesn’t require verbal conflict, and although I believe I may have come to understand some truths of scripture, I have to be considerate; either responding in humility with gentleness, listening a bit longer before replying, or maybe saying nothing and turning the other cheek, because, I can’t change someone else through my own strength, but heavenly Father can and will change me; and if any change is needed in them, that’s God’s area of ability, not mine.

perhaps God may give them repentance leading to the full knowledge of the truth.

Or, God may give me repentance to the full knowledge of the truth. I certainly need to rest in the truth of God’s Word that Holy Spirit has given me, to hold onto those truths, and guard them, but I may have to consider that I may not actually yet have “the full knowledge of the truth” in some doctrines; so either way, I need to rest, listen, and speak gently in the knowledge that He changes me and others, in His time, by His means; and although the means often includes His children, we need to be speaking and acting according to His instruction, or we’ll be like “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal“.

So commit your plans and interactions to Him:

in everything by prayer and petition 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.”.

The peace of the Saint’s, is all in Christ Jesus, through the strength that God provides, so that we live according to His ways, and are known by His example, who:

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:8

A.P.O 27-Oct-2026