I'm going on a Trip! & JOY devotional

Hello everyone, for the next week I will be on vacation visiting a very, very good friend of mine and won't be able to manage my blog as much as normal. I want to apologize for my extreme laziness is posting for you all. I have been extremely busy and haven't been able get the time write something for you all. So I wanted to continue my devotional posts that I was doing at the beginning of the year, this one is from the Joy book again, I hope you all enjoy it!

Joy In Letting Go

Nothing measures up to knowing and living with Jesus. Do we really believe that? We must, because it is what we were created for. That's why nothing else brings lasting satisfaction and joy. If we trust God's Word, we know the truth of this. Why, then, do we strive so hard to find fulfillment elsewhere? It never works-certainly not in any lasting way. Paul knew the secrets to possessing and enjoying the blessings of earthly life is to hold them loosely. Paul held all his blessings loosely because he had found something that mattered even more. He had found life in Christ to surpass the best that this life can offer. That's why he sought to get rid of anything that would hinder or water down a deeper intimacy with his Lord.

    The value we place on Christ can be measured by what we are willing to forego or give up in order to safeguard our relationship with him. It can also be measured by how we react when God takes away something we value. Do we get angry with God? Do we get depressed about it? He removes from us only what he knows will impede our spiritual growth. If we fight against his Providences, inwardly or outwardly, it is an indicator that Christ is not our all. If he were, we would be eager to hunt down and set aside any interference.
    Paul gave up prestige, power, authority, friends, the comforts of prosperity, and eventually his very own life. Is there something in our lives that we know is a spiritual hindrance but have been unwilling to lose for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ is better? For some, it might be a relationship. For others, it might be a particular calling, or a home, or an education. F or still other it might be good health. Whatever it is, letting go of it will lead to joy.
    Many of us are familiar with the now-famous words penned by missionary Jim Elliot months before he was martyred for his faith: "he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep what he cannot lose." Jim knew what Paul did and what we can too - those who leave precious things to follow Christ have no regrets.

Written by Lydia Brownback. From the Godly Woman Adornment Devotional Collection.