May 26 | Philippians 4:4-9

Pastor Dave Mann
May 26, 2025
2 min read

DAILY READING

REFLECTION

Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda --> Joy!

By Dave Mann

Too often, we allow ourselves to play reruns of negative encounters with people. We think about what we would have said, could have said, should have said, if only ... If we would have done, could have done, should have done, the situation would have turned out much better. However, none of these experiences of rehashing ever yields a good mental state for us. We end up feeling like losers.

One wonders about the Apostle Paul, who had numerous negative experiences with people who resisted the gospel. His opponents ran him out of town. There were riots in the streets because of his preaching. Some people tried to imprison or even kill him.

Did Paul battle with these mental shenanigans? He certainly had the raw material with which to do himself psychological harm. Nevertheless, I seriously doubt that he succumbed to these negative mental escapades.

The verses of Philippians 4:4-9 are favorites for many believers. Often, some people value these verses so much that they memorize them. There is a positive aura about the ideas expressed in these verses that simply warms our hearts.

First, Paul exhorts us to have certain actions as regular patterns of behavior in our lives:

Rejoice!
Be gentle with everyone.
Don’t be anxious.
Pray.
Be thankful.

When we have these five mental goals, life is good.

Paul reminds us that God gives us a great promise in verse 7.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

What we let our minds dwell upon tends to determine our outcomes. The Apostle Paul encourages us to surround ourselves with positive attitudes – things that are:

True
Noble
Right
Pure
Lovely
Admirable
Excellent
Praiseworthy

Paul concludes in verse 9 once again with God’s promise that is first stated in verse 7.

And the God of peace will be with you.

Warning: Don’t let the Enemy turn these verses into a set of laws that become a list of attitudes that you can never perfectly achieve. It is better to view these verses as simply God’s loving encouragements, showing us the way to live life to the fullest. The Holy Spirit can turn our woulda-coulda-shouldas into JOY.

PRAYER

Thank you, Father, for providing us with positive ways of directing our thought-life into the way of harmony and joy. Jesus himself exemplifies the goodness of life even when we have difficulties. Lord, may your joy and faithfulness guide us throughout life, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DAVE MANN

I am a Pastor for Internationals (retired) in the UALC community. I am married to Pam, father of four, and grandfather of six. Pam and I have lived twenty of our years in other countries including France, Cameroon, Haiti, and Morocco. In retirement, we continue to enjoy writing devotionals, learning languages, and teaching English to internationals.

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