17
Nov '18
The Serenity Prayer
17
Nov '18
Do you ever get impatient? I know do – about all kinds of things. I try not to make it a habit, but I can sure conjure up ideas in my head of things that I think are going to happen, and then I get impatient while I wait for them to happen. Sometimes they happen, but sometimes they don’t, and most always they are out of my control.
There’s been times in my life that I’ve really prayed for patience – and I’ve since learned that patience is something God will provide every! single! time! I ask for it. (I believe He’s definitely given patience to me in various large doses over the years! ha!). I remember Pastor Frank mentioning this during a sermon quite some time ago and laughingly mentioned how God will always give us patience when we ask. When he said this, I had been praying for patience, and I thought “Uh oh!”.. (Haha. Yep – God gave me patience!!) Truth be told, I don’t ask for patience anymore; too much patience in my life can be scary! 🙂 (Hurry up and wait…..) Not that there is anything wrong with praying for patience, but personally I’ve shifted over to asking for wisdom. I am a VERY patient person, until I’m not. I am a VERY patient person until I get impatient. So, now I’m asking for wisdom – to know the difference. To understand that God has it ALL under control.
A good friend recently reminded me that being impatient about life is essentially letting God know my dissatisfaction about how He’s doing things (in my life). That kind of smacked me in the face – front and center. Of course I know what he (my friend) was saying was true, but I surely wasn’t looking at it that way. Isn’t it nice when a Christian friend walks up to you at the exact moment you need to hear something, and when you voice your frustration (like I did), they give you their God-inspired opinion? Apparently, sometimes I like to know things sooner than I need to know them, but I also know that God will allow things to unfold exactly in His perfect timing when I’m ready to receive them. That almost seems like an oxy-moron, as I get impatient even though I KNOW God will reveal things in His perfect timing. Yes, I can get all bent out of shape and question things, or I can take a deep breath, tell God that I’m frustrated with my situation, and then TRUST Him with what I’ve told Him. I know He’s got it under control.. but why is it that I still feel like I want to be in control? I want to know what He hasn’t yet established for me to know.
I find daily that I need Him so much. I will think I’ve conquered something, and then something completely different (and out of the blue) will come up and I’m learning the same lessons over and over – again and again. I really don’t like re-learning lessons. It seems like a waste of my time (and it probably is – I feel I should just learn it already). I do know God has everything under control, however. (Whew!) I do know that He’s working on my behalf as I type this blog, but I also know that He puts circumstance after circumstance into my life to allow me to need Him. To allow me to trust Him. To allow me to put my faith in Him.
When I feel like I’ve got nothing else – when I can’t do anything else about a situation – that’s when I start to panic, or start to get frustrated. I have to rely on what I can change (with His guidance), not what I can’t – as He’s got it all covered anyway. Inner peace in any situation can only come from a Holy, Righteous God. Our Holy, Righteous God. Perseverance and successes aren’t born out of the fun times – they’re born out of the messy, muddy times of our lives. That’s when we can prove our endurance and trust in Him.
I have to keep reminding myself that there is no such thing as a promise that my Heavenly Father “forgot” to fulfill for my life. His promises are true.
“God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times: Power O God, belongs to You.” – Psalm 62:11 NLT
..and as I wrap this up, a sweet friend recently reminded me that there’s more to the Serenity Prayer than just the first four lines that we all tend to know and recite. So, if I may quote Reinhold Niebuhr with the Serenity Prayer – in its entirety (since it’s what inspired this blog), and really focus on the words as you read them:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.
*Dena*
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