READ
“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:7-11 NKJV

THINK
Paul’s life is a beautiful example of focusing on others ALL the time. As he wrote this letter, he was chained up in prison, far away from every possible comfort. While he had many prime opportunities to write and complain about the conditions of his jail cell, or the disgusting food that was occasionally thrown to him, or the fresh collection of bruises from his guards, he chose instead to encourage his readers – reminding them to that knowing Jesus is of greater worth than all else in this life. His perspective is a rare and very valuable one.

1. When we are feeling imprisoned by whatever life has handed us, how often do we choose to encourage those around us, instead of venting and complaining about our own situation? How do we show that the needs of those around us are more important than our own?

PRAY
Pray that God would give us a new perspective on our surroundings – and that you would begin choosing to put others always before yourself.