How would you describe your disposition? How would you describe your general attitude? Are you generally a positive or negative person? What is your standard mindset? Is your default to find fault? Are you bent on being bent out of shape?
If anyone had a right, from a human perspective, to be bitter and bent out of shape because of circumstances, it was Paul while imprisoned in Rome. And, yet, when one reads the book of Philippians, he finds just the opposite. Paul was devoted to “prayer” (Phil. 1:3-4). He found “peace” in prayer (4:6-7). In the midst of his suffering, he wrote, “I am glad and rejoice with you all” (2:17). So much of this is the mindset that one sets out to develop and flourish. When one “meditates” on things that are “true…noble…just…pure…lovely…of good report” (4:8), instead of the opposite of those things, it defines his perspective on all things.
What if we were bent on rejoicing in the Lord, regardless of what’s going on around us (4:4)? Could we find enough reasons to be filled with “joy” (2:2) and “thanksgiving” all of the time (4:6)?