Daily Devotionals
Wednesday, July 10, 2024 (Paula)
Good morning! 
As you wake and tackle your day ahead, pray this well known prayer over your day with me!
It’s called the Serenity Prayer, and we are going to take a closer look at its meaning.
“God, grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I can not change,
COURAGE to change the things I can,
And WISDOM to know the difference.”
3 things:
1)Serenity.
2)Courage.
3)Wisdom.
The first one, SERENITY to accept...
We all have hard things in our lives we wish we could change. Small things, like traffic congestion, weather, or your child’s bad mood…Or perhaps something more serious like a loved one’s struggle with addiction, diagnosis of terminal illness, or chronic condition that seems to have no end? We fight it, hate it, rage against it, curse it, hide from it, numb it with food, drink, or substance. Let’s face it, some things are out of our control and that’s one of the hardest things of all in life.
But it is a fact of life. People will die. Tragedies will happen. We will face trials. People will treat us poorly. And we DO need to learn how to accept it with Gods help. Sometimes, circumstances do not change. God doesn’t pluck us out. Instead, he enters the trial with us and gives us HIS peace. That’s “the peace that passes all understanding” Paul speaks of in Philippians 4:7. Loosen the grip on the very things you can not control. “Let go, and Let God”.
The second one, COURAGE...
Courage is the choice to confront. We may have to confront discomfort, uncertainty, fear, difficulty, or pain. It’s the willingness to step out. I have had the privilege of getting to know some of you in this group a little better. I’m absolutely delighted by you, and blown away by your courage to reach out and face some stagnant situations, lifeless beliefs, painful secrets, and harmful habits. It takes a brave soul to release the old, familiar, comfortable (albeit ineffective) ways and reach out to embrace the new! Rebirth, renewal, restoration are HIS specialty. God, give us courage to change the things we can!!!Because there’s a lot we can change (and we are better together!)
The third one, WISDOM:
We need Gods help in discerning what we are in control of and what we are not in control of. We soon find that the only thing we can control is ourselves. This includes our attitudes, actions, and reactions. Chuck Swindoll once said, “Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it” we have the freedom to choose.
And when it comes to helping others, we can’t want something more for a person than they want it for themselves. It doesn’t work. So we need God’s wisdom to help us recognize His will for us in each situation.
Again. The Serenity Prayer. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. Courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference.”
You are loved!
Rachels Closet Cares.
We are better together!
Paula
As you wake and tackle your day ahead, pray this well known prayer over your day with me!
It’s called the Serenity Prayer, and we are going to take a closer look at its meaning.
“God, grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I can not change,
COURAGE to change the things I can,
And WISDOM to know the difference.”
3 things:
1)Serenity.
2)Courage.
3)Wisdom.
The first one, SERENITY to accept...
We all have hard things in our lives we wish we could change. Small things, like traffic congestion, weather, or your child’s bad mood…Or perhaps something more serious like a loved one’s struggle with addiction, diagnosis of terminal illness, or chronic condition that seems to have no end? We fight it, hate it, rage against it, curse it, hide from it, numb it with food, drink, or substance. Let’s face it, some things are out of our control and that’s one of the hardest things of all in life.
But it is a fact of life. People will die. Tragedies will happen. We will face trials. People will treat us poorly. And we DO need to learn how to accept it with Gods help. Sometimes, circumstances do not change. God doesn’t pluck us out. Instead, he enters the trial with us and gives us HIS peace. That’s “the peace that passes all understanding” Paul speaks of in Philippians 4:7. Loosen the grip on the very things you can not control. “Let go, and Let God”.
The second one, COURAGE...
Courage is the choice to confront. We may have to confront discomfort, uncertainty, fear, difficulty, or pain. It’s the willingness to step out. I have had the privilege of getting to know some of you in this group a little better. I’m absolutely delighted by you, and blown away by your courage to reach out and face some stagnant situations, lifeless beliefs, painful secrets, and harmful habits. It takes a brave soul to release the old, familiar, comfortable (albeit ineffective) ways and reach out to embrace the new! Rebirth, renewal, restoration are HIS specialty. God, give us courage to change the things we can!!!Because there’s a lot we can change (and we are better together!)
The third one, WISDOM:
We need Gods help in discerning what we are in control of and what we are not in control of. We soon find that the only thing we can control is ourselves. This includes our attitudes, actions, and reactions. Chuck Swindoll once said, “Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it” we have the freedom to choose.
And when it comes to helping others, we can’t want something more for a person than they want it for themselves. It doesn’t work. So we need God’s wisdom to help us recognize His will for us in each situation.
Again. The Serenity Prayer. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. Courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference.”
You are loved!
Rachels Closet Cares.
We are better together!
Paula
