Occasional disappointments are a part of life.

In fact, sometimes life delivers a string of crushing blows, and it takes everything we've got to recover.

In those unwanted moments when painful circumstances occur, we're tempted to think the whole world is against us.

And we can slip into a martyr complex.

Well, today, on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindall reminds us of a liberating truth.

In Philippians chapter 2, Paul taught that we can't control what happens to us,

but we have complete control over how we respond.

Chuck titled today's message, Strengthening Your Grip on Attitudes.

God says the way I want you to live is with a life of rejoicing.

Just rejoice in the Lord always, he says in verse four.

Again I say rejoice. You say, I was written in a time when things were easy.

Then you don't know your history.

I mean all hell had broken loose.

The bottom had dropped out of lives.

Nero was on the march. And he says rejoice. He says rejoice. But he says rejoice in circumstances. No, he says rejoice in the Lord.

And he says, don't hide that. Verse five, let your forbearing spirit be known to all men.

The Lord is near.

Focus on him.

Choose his kind of life, whatever may be your lot, and don't hide it.

Verse six, be anxious for nothing.

Now, don't run on after that statement.

We want to get to the end of the verse. Isn't it funny reading the Bible as though the end of the verse is the goal?

...