Philippians 4: How should we live?
March 23 - 29, 2025 | Always Peachy Devotionals | The Book of Philippians Week 4
What is the formula for a happy life?
As an author, I never expected to like formulas. Writing is an art, after all. Shouldn’t it be spontaneous? I mean, sure. Sometimes writing something or creating any work of art can be spur of the moment, although having a lifetime of practice behind you makes creating something spontaneously easier.
But if you think about it, all art has a formulaic nature to it. All stories have a formulaic component. Well, let me rephrase, all stories that truly resonate with people have a formulaic element within them.
Beginning, middle, end. The hero wins. The villain fails. The truth comes to light. Struggle is rewarded. There is a structure to all of it, an order to understand and imitate. And it’s not just in storytelling. All of life and living follows some kind of pattern.
We are born, we live, we die. We make choices, and we face consequences. We invest and reap the outcomes. History doesn’t exactly repeat itself, but there truly is nothing new under the sun.
So if we can identify the formulas and structures of how the world works, is there a way to find instructions or direction on how to live a happy life? Maybe not even a happy life, just instructions on how to live in general would be useful in most circumstances.
Yes, of course. How else do you think the Bible works? What else do we think the Bible is for? God’s Word is our guidebook, our map to living well and abundantly. And I’m not sure there’s a better chapter in Scripture about how to live than Philippians 4.
That’s what we’re going to be studying this week, how to live. But not just living at the bottom of the barrel. Not just scraping by. God’s desire is for us to live abundantly, because He has blessed us abundantly. So how do we achieve that kind of living?
Monday - Stop fighting (Philippians 4:2-3)
Tuesday - Rejoice (Philippians 4:4)
Wednesday - Pray (Philippians 4:6-7)
Thursday - Fix your thoughts (Philippians 4:8)
Friday - The secret to living (Philippians 4:11-13)
Living the good life isn’t complicated. There are only five steps that we’re focusing on this week, and if we can embrace all of these instructions in our lives, we’ll see a revolution in our spiritual maturity.
The beautiful part about giving everything to Jesus is that He truly takes over providing for us. He knows what we need in every situation, and He doesn’t hesitate to provide when the time is right. Sure, He doesn’t operate on our timeline, which can be stressful in moments. But God won’t let us down. He never abandons us. And that’s a promise. So that’s why I grabbed Philippians 4:19 as our memory verse this week.
Isn’t that wonderful? God has unlimited resources, unlimited riches, unlimited goodness to distribute, and He wants to provide for us. So we don’t need to spend our life chasing all of those things. God wants to give them to us freely. We don’t need to strain and strive to achieve greatness; God is already great and wants to share with us. He invites us to wait on Him, to rest in Him, to allow Him to take the burden of provision off our shoulders.
Yes, it requires trust. Yes, it means surrendering your plans in exchange for God’s. Yes, it may even mean laying down your heart’s dream for a time, but that doesn’t mean you’ll never get to accomplish those things you want. It just means you’ll get to do them when the time is right, and you’ll have all of God’s resources supporting you when it is.
And if that isn’t a guideline for a happy life, I’m not sure what else is.
Praying for you this week, my friend.
Amy
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