Accepting what you cannot change

Even though the new year is upon us and resolutions have probably been done and redone already, it is still the perfect time of the year to start making changes in your personal and ministry life so that you can be more effective for Christ.  After all, spring is right around the corner and you can do a great new spring cleaning and get a fresh start on things.  However, the process of doing a spring cleaning and making changes can also be very frustrating at times because as you seek to do a personal and ministry evaluation there may be things about you and/or your ministry that you may not like seeing.  Things that can be hard to see and change.

However, there is a prayer out there that has helped me in this process.  It’s call the Serenity Prayer and goes like this:

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can change, And wisdom to know the difference.”

Even though you would most likely hear this prayer at an “AA” meeting, this prayer was originally written by Reinhold Niebuhr, a Christian Theologian, for a sermon he did back in the 1930s.  I say that even though you may not go to “AA” or some recovery group that uses this prayer, that does not mean you can’t take the principles behind it to make you and/or your ministry better.

This prayer is great for control freaks like me.  In fact, ever since the winter of last year, I carry around a coin with this prayer in it because so often I want to be in control of my life.  I want to be in control of what happens and how it happens.  But I have found out that I am not in control.  There are so many things that contribute to how my day runs and operates, I have to keep this mindset and pray to God that he gives 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.

So no matter what happens to you in life or in ministry, sometimes it is what it is and that is enough.  Ultimately, you cannot change certain things and you cannot change how people react.  What you can change is how your respond and what you do because of it.  That is where wisdom comes in.  You need to have godly wisdom and discernment to determine what to do and how to respond.  James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

So right now, TAKE A MINUTE and examine where you are at.  In fact, go before God right now and spend some time sharing your heart with him.  If things are going great in your life, go before Him and ask Him to see where you can improve (we can always improve at something, right?).  If things are a bit of a struggle right now, ask Him to show you were you need to change – both personally and in ministry.  Then rest and rely on Him to give you the wisdom to make those changes.

Source:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhold_Niebuhr#Serenity_Prayer