“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about these things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you”.
Philippians 4:8-9
The serenity prayer has been around for decades as a reminder that we can only change what’s in our power to change. It’s not a prayer that’s found in the Bible, but it’s a prayer that carries so much spiritual insight:
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”.
Serenity is defined as a state of freedom from storm or disturbance; evenness of temper or emotions; freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts. Serenity is the opposite of anxiety, unrest, nervousness, chaos, and fear.
Serenity is surrendering those things to God that we cannot change. This might sound easy for some, but I’ll be the first one to tell you that it’s not. I mean, there is always something or someone we want to change. Whether it’s a spouse, a parent, a friend, a child, a political system, the evils in the world, global warming, a medical diagnosis. All of these things can cause us heartache or rage, consuming so much energy worrying and fighting and bickering. But Paul reminds us to “Not worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God about it and thank him for all that He has done. Then, you will experience God’s peace that passes all understanding and His peace will guard your hearts and minds” (Philippians 4:6-7).
You see, God’s love is unconditional – He loves us regardless of our choices. But his blessings are not. Over and over in Scripture we are promised peace, purpose and deliverance from our worries, our struggles, our sins, and ourselves, but with every promise comes an action we must make. A choice to surrender it all to the One who will make things new. “Don’t worry but pray. Be thankful for what you have and who you are. And tell God about those things” that disturb you causing anxiety, unrest, division, and fear. Acknowledge and surrender that those things cannot be controlled by you. THEN you will experience freedom and peace.
Now, I’m not saying that you should live under a rock. There are realities in this world that demand action. But once we are free from our emotions and level in our tempers, we can focus on those things with the wisdom of knowing what we can change and what we can’t. We can free ourselves from complaining and provoking to more freely focus our energy on our daily relationships and responsibilities that make a difference in honorable and practical ways. “Keep putting into practice all you learned from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9 – there’s that blessing from obedience again).
Having the courage to change what we can is a tough one too. Sometimes that involves looking at the ugly in our own hearts. Sometimes it involves walking away from the ugly in someone else’s heart. It may mean that we need a change of scenery or that we need to stay in a place that’s unpleasant so that we can make a difference. We might consider changing our priorities of what we watch on tv, what we read, and where we spend our spare time. Or it may mean we need to give up control and acknowledge our human impotence. But change is a choice that has to start inside us. And change is a scary thing. But “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but one of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).
When we learn to surrender and transform our thoughts to what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praise worthy, THEN we will find the courage and wisdom to focus our energy on what is reasonable and attainable, experiencing the peace that will guard our hearts and minds while we do.
This world is a hard and seemingly hopeless place to live with so many injustices, so much oppression, and so many different personalities. But the hope we have lives in us “for God is working in you, giving you the desire and power to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). And our time on earth is short. So today, take a moment to pray and ask God to grant you the serenity to accept the things you cannot change. The courage to change the things you can. And the wisdom to know the difference. Then shine your light in a world that so badly needs you to be the difference it is waiting to see.
