⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. ⁹Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Paul knew that there are not detours around hardship in this life. We will all have a share of suffering. But while we can’t control whether or not we experience hardship, we can control our response to it. Instead of being overcome by despair when difficulty strikes, we can choose to be joyful. How? First, by presenting our requests in prayer to God and trusting God to handle the answers in his time. Second, by saturating our minds with “whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is noble…” (v. 8). In doing so we focus on how great God is instead of how difficult our circumstances are. Finally, by following the example of Paul and others who have put their faith into practice and experienced joy in spite of hardships. When we do these things, we’ll begin to see both trials and joys as gifts from God.