Was Paul Right?

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord, for Whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him..." (Philippians 3:7-9)

Now I've been thinking, how does one recite this verse and sincerely mean it? I mean, I've been hearing a lot of talk lately about how following the Lord just isn't fun. I've heard that it's limiting, restrictive, and boring. And it's made me think on my own decision to follow Jesus. I made the decision when I was a child as a direct result of being raised in church. It's what I was told, so I willingly believed. But as I got older and the "rubber met the road," Jesus became more than just a hero I sang about, He became my lifeline. He has became the shoulder I cry on, the healing arms I cling to, and the strength I rely on. And following Him has never been anything short of satisfying. And I don't say these things as one who has merely read of the of joy of knowing Christ, but as someone who has experienced that joy. And it's not necessarily the kind of joy that brings sunny days, fosters smooth sailing, or is associated with happy circumstances. Because I have had my fair share of cloudy skies. I've wearily weathered the stormy waves of this life, and I've walked through sad circumstances. It's the kind of joy that gives you a sense of peace that makes absolutely no sense when you try to explain it out loud but makes perfect sense to your heart. It speaks of a hope completely unobstructed by the cynicism that heartache brings. It's perhaps a revealing of a hunger that this world was never meant to satisfy.
Being raised in the church no longer holds water to me as the reason I decided to walk into a relationship with Jesus. It's the experience that I can't deny, the hope that I can't snuff out, and the joy that I can't squelch. It's the fact that the Almighty God has left his hand prints on my life and I can't erase them. And I don't want to try. Yes, Paul, I second what you say, "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord." (Phil. 3:8)