Happiness Means Giving My Life Away

In review of Philippians 1:21 it says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Bottom Line:

To live is serving Christ, to die will bring even more.

What this means to me:

My life should be all about living for Christ. In death, I’ll have even more. What I’m learning is the true happiness comes from service and giving my life away. Happiness does not come from self-gratification, rather it comes from self-sacrifice. Paul knew that to be happy, he had to stay focused on his purpose and not his problems. He summed up his purpose in Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (NIV). Like Paul, nothing deserves the place of the One who created me and gave me life; Jesus. “Money, success, pleasure or power”, which is what the world has to offer does not deserve first place. I wasn’t created to make a bunch of money, then die, and give it away. God has a far greater purpose for my life. There is only one answer that leads to happiness for me is to live is Christ. I should therefore give my life away. It is my purpose! So I close out my quiet time today with this prayer: “Dear Jesus, you know that I often let circumstances determine my happiness. You know that I often allow the killjoys of pain and problems and pressures and picky people to rob my happiness. Help me to look at every problem in my life from your viewpoint. I want to handle problems in a way that is a witness to non-believers and an encouragement to believers. Help me to remember that what others say and do does not control my happiness unless I allow it. And as for the things that happen that I don’t understand or can’t figure out, I want to trust you to work it all out for good. Help me to stay focused on your purpose for my life and not my problems. I want to use the rest of my life to serve you by serving others. Use me, Lord, so I have a purpose for living and for dying. From this day on, for me to live is Christ. In your name I pray. Amen.”