2021 Daily Devotion - Day 394

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The Serenity Prayer

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 Jesus 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;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever and ever in the next.
Amen.
(prayer attributed to Reinhold Neibuhr, 1892-1971)

In my early years of being a Christian, whilst going through hard times, I encountered the subtle message that if I trusted God enough and prayed enough, I would not feel the feelings I was feeling. As a young wife and mother of four children, I often experienced times of sadness, despair and loneliness. I soon learned to mask these feelings in public and display the persona that all was well in my little Christian home. It wasn’t until years later, I began to learn the truth about how God feels about our pain and suffering.

Psalm 34:18
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit”.

The truth is God was with me IN my pain. The Serenity Prayer has taught me to accept the things in my life I have no control over and “He will make all things right if I surrender to His will”. For me, this means fully giving over my need to control and allowing God to be the Lord of my life. I know that one day I will be supremely happy with Him forever, and this gives me hope and strength to face each day.

Pray with me:
God, help us to submit all to You in the good times and the bad. Thank You for not judging us on what we do or what we don’t do. You meet us right in the midst of our feelings and emotions. You are near to the brokenhearted and You save the crushed in spirit. Help us to be still and know You are God. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Michelle Lammers
Mount of Olives Staff Community Coordinator
Mount of Olives Church
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