{"id":14490,"date":"2025-06-18T00:27:21","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T17:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=14490"},"modified":"2025-06-18T00:27:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T17:27:21","slug":"4-surprising-benefits-of-serving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=14490","title":{"rendered":"4 Surprising Benefits of Serving"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<h5><strong>Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others. \u2013 1 Peter 4:10<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h5><strong>Serve the Lord with gladness. \u2013 Psalm 100:2<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At Faithful Workouts, we talk a lot about moving our bodies, eating nutritious foods, and spending time with God \u2014 and these are\u00a0<em>so<\/em>\u00a0important. But there\u2019s another key ingredient to a joyful, healthy life:\u00a0<strong>serving others<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Serving isn\u2019t just a nice thing to do or something that benefits the people around us \u2014 it\u2019s life-changing for\u00a0<em>us<\/em>, too. Body, mind, and spirit, we are wired to thrive when we give of ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>Here are four powerful (and surprising) reasons to serve:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Serving Is Good for Your Physical Health<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When we serve others, we don\u2019t just touch hearts \u2014 we strengthen our own bodies. Research shows that people who regularly serve or volunteer live longer, have lower blood pressure, and even experience reduced chronic pain. One study found that having purpose and meaning in your life can increase your life expectancy by\u00a0<strong>up to 7 years<\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p>Isn\u2019t it amazing that something as simple as preparing a meal or lending a helping hand can positively impact our physical health? When we serve with love, our health improves!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Serving Fights Depression and Loneliness<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For many women \u2014 especially in midlife or after children have left the home \u2014 there can be a real sense of loss, loneliness, or even purposelessness. When so much of our identity has been wrapped up in caring for our families, it\u2019s easy to feel like we\u2019ve lost our \u201cwhy\u201d when that season ends. In fact, studies show that women are at one of the highest risks of depression during the empty-nest years.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>According to the\u00a0National Institute of Mental Health, nearly\u00a0<strong>1 in 5 women<\/strong>\u00a0will experience depression at some point in their lives \u2014 and midlife is a particularly vulnerable time.<\/li>\n<li>A study published in the\u00a0<em>Journal of Women &amp; Aging<\/em>\u00a0found that feelings of emptiness, loss of identity, and social isolation often peak during the transition to the empty nest, especially when women lack new purpose or community.<\/li>\n<li>On the flip side, a study in\u00a0<em>BMC Public Health<\/em>\u00a0showed that people who volunteer regularly experience\u00a0<strong>fewer symptoms of depression<\/strong>\u00a0and report\u00a0<strong>greater life satisfaction<\/strong>\u00a0than those who don\u2019t.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That\u2019s where\u00a0<em>serving<\/em>\u00a0becomes such a powerful antidote to\u00a0depression. Acts of kindness \u2014 big or small \u2014 help reconnect us with meaning. Serving reminds us that we\u00a0<em>still have something valuable to give<\/em>\u00a0and opens the door to relationships that bring encouragement, joy, and a renewed sense of belonging.<\/p>\n<p>When we show up for others, we\u2019re reminded:\u00a0<strong>We still matter. We are still needed.<\/strong>\u00a0And in giving, we actually receive \u2014 connection, joy, and a deep sense of purpose.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Serving Lowers Stress and Boosts Your Mood<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When we focus on helping others, something powerful happens in our brains. Serving others helps reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) and increases feel-good chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin \u2014 the same ones linked to joy, peace, and human connection.<\/p>\n<p>Even small acts of service, like offering a listening ear or helping a friend, can shift our focus away from our own stress and lift our spirits in the process. Serving isn\u2019t a chore. It\u2019s a natural mood booster!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Serving Deepens Your Faith<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Every time we serve, we reflect the heart of Jesus. Scripture reminds us that \u201ceven the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others.\u201d (Matthew 20:28). When we choose to serve, we\u2019re not just doing good, we\u2019re living more like Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>Serving shifts our mindset from \u201cWhat can I get?\u201d to \u201cWhat can I <em>give<\/em>?\u201d And in that shift, we grow closer to God. The more we serve, the more we become like Him. We discover that serving isn\u2019t something we\u00a0<em>have<\/em>\u00a0to do \u2014 it\u2019s something we\u00a0<em>get<\/em>\u00a0to do. And God meets us there.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re feeling a bit down or struggling to take care of your body, the breakthrough you\u2019re looking for might come as you step out to serve someone else. When we know our lives have purpose, we\u2019re far more likely to care for ourselves \u2014 choosing to move our bodies, eat well, and stay healthy \u2014 because we <em>want<\/em>\u00a0to feel our best so we can live out that purpose each day.<\/p>\n<p>So, how will you serve this week?<\/p>\n<p>Maybe it\u2019s offering a word of encouragement, helping a neighbor, making a meal, or simply smiling and asking someone how they\u2019re really doing. Big or small, every act of service counts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Let\u2019s be women who serve the Lord with gladness \u2014 and experience the joy that comes with it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script  type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t\t\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\t\t\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\n\t\t\t\t\tn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n\t\t\t\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\t\t<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/faithfulworkouts.com\/4-surprising-benefits-of-serving\/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=4-surprising-benefits-of-serving\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others. \u2013 1 Peter 4:10 \u00a0 Serve the Lord with gladness. \u2013 Psalm 100:2 \u00a0 At Faithful Workouts, we talk a lot about moving our bodies, eating nutritious foods, and spending time with God \u2014 and these are\u00a0so\u00a0important. But there\u2019s another key ingredient &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14490\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}