The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“The one who has found his life will lose it, and the one who has lost his life on my account will find it.”

—Matthew 10:39

We spend a lot of time trying to “find our lives.” We want to make our mark, have a successful career, be comfortable financially, and have trouble–free relationships and lives.

But this says the way to “finding our lives” is through seeking the Lord and submitting all our wants and desires to him rather than spending our time scraping and clawing for what we think we need.

Giving up our right to ourselves is the way to true life. It’s counterintuitive. We’re taught to chase our dreams and do what makes us happy, and that makes sense to us.

But the Word tells us that will only end with us losing the thing we sought. It says that seeking God and righteousness is the way to finding all the things our soul actually needs (Matthew 6:33). 

What we need may not be in the direction of our dreams nor what we believe will make us happy, but it will always be worth it in the end, because we don’t actually know what will make us happy. God does.

When we’re unwilling to let go of a desire, insisting that we must have or experience something in this life, our hearts are saying, “I can’t trust God in this area; he’s not enough. I must get it regardless of whether he intends it or not.”

But trusting the One who knows everything and giving him the right to direct our steps is the path to life even when it means releasing our worldly expectations and desires.

When we’re willing to lose our life, we will find it.

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