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Paul claims to know the “secret” to contentment in all circumstances. Through his experiences, both good and bad, he’s realized, and he reveals to us, the key to contentment: knowing Jesus and being filled with His power and presence.

Much of the Christian life is learning to wait well and, more than anything, the process of waiting well for complete salvation and restoration through Jesus. Paul shows us worrying is a waste of time and the way we think determines how well we wait.

Paul’s goal is to “know Christ Jesus,” and he says everything else is “garbage” by comparison. May our sole goal be to walk so closely with Jesus that the way we see God, ourselves, and others is completely transformed and everything else is garbage.

What we respect is what we reflect. Paul tells us the more we begin to respect the attitudes and characteristics of those who are driven by the desires of Jesus, the more we begin to imitate those same attitudes and characteristics in our own lives.

As followers of Jesus, our actions matter, but Paul reminds us where our actions ought to flow from and what they ought to be for. The source of our transformed lives and actions is not our own tenacious effort, but the very work of God in us.

Paul tells us, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” He invites us to stand firm on an unshakable foundation—and to reframe our attitude to be as that of Jesus toward every situation and relationship.

Paul encourages us that, through Jesus, we can reframe the way we see the world, understanding that our struggles and setbacks can be used by God. Often the first step is lifting our eyes up from our situation to focus on how God is at work.

As Paul, who is writing from prison, begins his letter to the Philippians, he frames his entire life in confidence that no matter what he faces, God has purpose within it. Paul reveals a mindset that we, as believers, want to take hold of.

Forgiving Paul for how he persecuted believers in Christ, Barnabas gives a strong example of the fruit of forgiveness. Think of all those who came to know Jesus through Paul because Barnabas was willing to forgive him and stick up for him.

Like in Acts 18 where Priscilla and Aquila corrected Apollos in a gentle, humble manner as they “explained to him the way of God more adequately,” that should be our goal when we admonish one another.