Week 9 - Day 7 - Living In Serenity.
|
Lets begin by reading the Serenity Prayer again.
“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 hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to Your will, So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
In Jesus name. Amen.”
As we conclude our unpacking of the Serenity Prayer we are at the promise stage, And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
The Serenity prayer is about living a life that gets us to the gates of Heaven. Building our characters in accordance with Gods’ will and purpose for our lives as we seek opportunities to grow our relationship with Him for eternal outcomes.
I personally don’t believe the motive for right living should be to get me to Heaven. That makes this all about me when it should be all about others. If everyman looked after the man on his right we would all be living so much better. Matthew 20:16 tells us that ‘the last shall be first and the first shall be last.’ Selflessness and not selfishness is what counts here.
So what’s the difference between being reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with God forever in the next?
Well God is here in this life too and make no mistake. The next life can only be better with God then because the things that make this life dark will be gone. There will be no more evil, pain and suffering. The Prince of darkness and the father of lies will have been dealt with and we will be restored to the wonderful Eden state at the start of creation. Gods’ original design laws restored and a future bright and without end.
We often pray for a life without pain, shame and guilt don’t we?
Well in this life that may not serve us very well. God gives us physical pain as a warning of physical distress. It’s handy to feel the sharp pain of burn when you play with fire. That’s Gods’ cautionary way of telling you that you are damaging your body. A toothache warns you that a growing infection in your mouth may lead to sepsis or a deadly infection. Shame and guilt are used by God the tell us that we are damaging our souls or searing our conscience as Dr Timothy Jennings tells us in his book ‘The God Shaped Heart.’
We need pain, shame and guilt to develop our characters to fit us for the journey to a supremely happy life forever with God. The things of this life are only temporary while the life with God is eternal.
For me it’s ironic that in living by the serenity prayer to overcome my own hurts, hangups and habits otherwise known as sin in my life, that I can find reasonable happiness here and now. In this state I am able to reject even the fear of death because I know that it’s only one more sleep to the next supremely happy life.
That blissful knowing in faith, that God is in control, causes me to desire to share that joy and hope with you.
As we wait for the inevitable train that we know is coming, we can now equip ourselves and others willing to board, to be ready to travel. God has given us the comforter to coach and lead us in the Holy Spirit and He has given us the Royal Telephone to Him in prayer every moment of everyday.
All we have to do is hand it to Jesus and accept His offer. An offer from the great promise keeper of the universe from whom all things were made.
We have an eternal lifetime manufacturers warranty and all we have to do is operate by the instructions in the manual.
How can we do this? Well once again lets remember Philippians 4:13. ‘I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.’
Questions
- The train is coming and you are wondering what to pack and what to leave behind. What do you need to discard today to have a supremely happy life with God?
- The promise belongs to you and it’s free. What do you have to change in your thinking to be able to accept it?
- Do you crave the serenity in your here and now that can be yours if you surrender to Him? So what’s stopping you?
Prayer
Lets pray the Serenity Prayer again as we close in prayer.
Dear Lord, Papa God.
“Please 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 hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to Your will, So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
In Jesus name. Amen.”
Graham Hood.
