Clayzmama recently wrote in her blog, about the fact that she’d just discovered, “That there is more than the first four lines in Reinhold Niebuhr’s famous Serenity Prayer!“
I knew this fact already, but this particular day as I read it again, with all I was spinning and stressing over going through my head, God really spoke to me!
The context the Prayer is in as you read through it is: The praying I was doing as I read it, as well as the message and hope He gave to me through it. I hope it will help those of you, who may also be in major stress mode as well!
THE SERENITY PRAYER
GOD GRANT ME THE SERENITY—Lord give me the peace and calm I need at this time in my life in regards to all that I’m disturbed over and concerned about.
TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE — I know I can’t change others; nor can I change their situations or circumstances. But I can hopefully change mine!
COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN — I need your courage and help Lord to change me, and maybe my circumstances as well.
THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE — In regards to my current circumstances and figuring out what I can and can’t do in their regard: I could hand these burdens over to you God. Using wisdom will help me choose a better place to be in my head and heart emotionally. I might write these situations down on a piece of paper, then give them to Him by way of: My ‘God Bottle.’ (More about that in another post.) Those would all be a wise actions to take.
LIVING ONE DAY AT A TIME — I’ll just do Monday things today (which is by the way Monday.) I can choose not to stress out over the future at all. I can try to do only God directed, peaceful, productive and positive living today.
ENJOYING ONE MOMENT AT A TIME –For instance, this actual moment that I’m in as I write this.
While I explore the Serenity Prayer, hopefully I can do so without any mental, emotional or possible literal interruptions! Only being focused on God and what He has for me in this moment. I need to enjoy this time like I would an ice cream cone, one sweet bite at a time. Slowly enjoying this time with Him, so I won’t get a ‘brain freeze’ that would distract and delay my enjoyment of this special moment I’m in.
ACCEPTING HARDSHIPS AS THE PATHWAY TO PEACE — My hardships (insert your own here) are that: One, my iPhone is missing. Two, I received a rejection letter for the manuscript I’ve worked on for over six months!!! And number three, I had my latest episode of ‘passenger anxiety’ during a recent road trip.
In these I find disappointment, frustration ad desperation. It’s in this space in time that I have choices. I can choose to allow bitterness, sadness and depression to set in or I can take my troubles to Him, the God Most High! I can give all these ugly negative emotions to Him. I can explore through much prayer, as well as reading His Word the Bible, and other wise and uplifting writings. Hopefully I will find peace in the midst of these latest storms of life.
TAKING AS HE DID THIS SINFUL WORLD AS IT IS, NOT AS I WOULD HAVE IT– Wow!!! This is huge. The sinfulness that I can relate to in my current circumstances are that: Someone took my phone and didn’t try to return it. Someone wronged me (in my opinion of course) by rejecting my Manuscript saying it wasn’t appropriate for their needs. Also, the anxiety issue I have about being the passenger in a car while someone else is driving. Maybe these last two aren’t truly in the sinful group, but they are in my life wrongs/negatives and not good/positive situations.
The key in this sentence of Niebuhr’s amazing and classic prayer is (again, in my opinion) ACCEPTANCE. Part of dealing wisely and appropriately is accepting the situations and circumstances of life as they are! No more grumbling and complaining about how hurt or wronged I feel towards and about them all. I simply need to let them be what they are; right here and now! Internalizing and accepting these issues as they are and saying something like, “My phone is gone.” “My manuscript has been rejected.” And, “I do get squirmy and overly nervous during car rides.” Nothing more or nothing less! No arguing or fighting against the facts. This then leads right into the next sentence:
TRUSTING THAT HE WILL MAKE ALL THINGS RIGHT!!! — I have to reach the point in my understanding of what works in living life once again, that God is God and I AM NOT. That God knows my troubles and He also knows my needs. So in these situations, as in all of my life, I need to lay my troubles at His feet, surrendering them to His Will, for Him to then make right!
Nor do I hang on to my will in dealing with these issues myself. I give up my control to God to do what HE sees as the best, for each of these different issues. I stop trying to figure it all out. I step on to that ‘Pathway to Peace’ when I surrender my will to His! When I allow God’s Will to be done in and through me. Then in regards to these and all other dramas and traumas that are my life, I can have confidence that God will make these and all things right!
So, THAT I MAY BE REASONABLY HAPPY IN THIS LIFE — I know that life is not going to go smoothly all the time. Maybe the reality and truth is that it won’t a lot of the time! Maybe without those hard, sad, frustrating, disappointing, annoying, times in life we probably wouldn’t go to God as much as He’d like us to. Because God knows what will draw us close to Him, He allows us to hurt. I also think (my opinion) He allows those times to bring us back to him, especially if we’ve strayed from our relationship with Him. He allows these hard things to draw us closer to Himself, when life or others have taken His place as the first and foremost focus or relationship in our lives.
God is longing for us to be in a personal relationship with Him. So in these hard circumstances of life we can come to Him, even if we have never called Him Lord! It’s simple. Knowing that we all sin; which simply means missing the mark He’s set for us. You can ask Him to forgive you your sins. Just ask Him in this moment to come into your heart and fill you with His Holy Spirit. Tell Him you want to have a personal relationship with His Son Jesus Christ so that you will then know Him personally. Ask Him to guide and direct your next steps to having that peace I talked about. He will do it, no questions asked, no “being ready or righteous enough,” because that, IS His Will!!!
I know that it’s the times when I am most close to my Heavenly Father that I am supremely happy. It’s these deeply abiding times with my Lord Jesus Christ, the God of the Universe, when I know all IS well! These times I spend with God are when I know that no matter what goes wrong (and things will) that He’s there to comfort and guide me to that peace that passes all understanding. It’s during these times that I am beyond reasonably happy. That I know being in God’s presence is what will get me through the bumpy times in my life. It’s in this moment that I know I can and will be supremely happy with Him FOREVER IN THE NEXT LIFE!!!
And once again, IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.
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