Jim Benfer

Sermo439b For 7-15-07

Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:25-34

A Prayer for Serenity

Bro. Bud is working his way through a series= of prayers from the Bible and I thought it might be appropriate to follow that sermon subject further by reading some wisdom from the Bible that has been prayed millions of times through a prayer we now call “The Serenity Prayer.”

You have= all probably heard the prayer even if you haven’t used it. The original version is attributed= to Reinhold Niebuhr and was written as a prayer around 1934. It was used by Niebuhr on July 1, = 1943 when he preached at the Union Church of Heath, Massachusetts where it gained notoriety. The = prayer was circulated by the Feder= al Council of Churches and later by the United States armed forces. T= he prayer is reliably reported to have been in use by Alcoholics Anonymous sin= ce the early 1940s. It has also been used in Narcotics Anonymous and other Twe= lve-step programs. Here it is in its simplest form:

O God and Heavenly Father,=

Grant to us the serenity of mind to accept t= hat which cannot be changed; the courage to change that which can be changed, a= nd the wisdom to know the one from the other, through Jesus Christ our Lord, A= men. [1]

That prayer resonates with millions of people whose lives have spun out of control. Jesus felt pity for those suffering from the anxiety and fear that g= rips us when life’s problems seem overwhelming. Our scripture this morning speaks = to that anxiety about things looming larger than life, and it reminds us that = God knows and cares about our circumstances.&n= bsp; I believe the scripture and the prayer share some common ground. Let’s look at Jesus’ w= isdom through the prayer points found in the Serenity Prayer.

The first point is that God cares about our peace of mind. Jesus tells his disciples that our heavenly = Father knows what we need and will provide for us. We all have trouble in our lives a= nd we need to remember that we should talk to God about them. The words, “O God and Heavenly Father” acknowledge first that we are God’s children asking our heavenly Father for compassion and help.&n= bsp;

Johnny, a very bright 5 year old, told his daddy he'd= like to have a baby brother and, along with his request, offered to do whatever = he could to help. His dad, a very bright 35 year old, paused for a moment and = then replied, " I'll tell you what, Johnny, if you pray every day for two months for a baby brother, I guarantee that God will give you one!"           Johnny responded eag= erly to his dad's challenge and went to his bedroom early that night to start praying for a baby brother.
             He prayed every night for a whole month, but after that time, he began to get skeptical. He checked around the neighborhood and found out that what he thought was going to happen, had never occurred in the history of the neighborhood. You just don't pray for two months and then, whammo- a new ba= by brother. So, Johnny quit praying. After another month, Johnny's mother went= to the hospital. When she came back home, Johnny's parents called him into the bedroom. He cautiously walked into the room, not expecting to find anything, and there was a little bundle lying right next to his mother. His dad pulled back the blanket and there was -- not one baby brother, but two!! His mother had twins!
             Jo= hnny's dad looked down at him and said, "Now aren't you glad you prayed?"= ;
             Jo= hnny hesitated a little and then looked up at his dad and said, "Yes, but aren't you glad I quit when I did?" [2]

Now, we = all know that fully developed babies don’t arrive after two short months, but = more often than not, we tend to be like little Johnny. We give up talking to God about our desires because we feel that either God isn’t listening, or that God doesn’t care to act. Je= sus said that we are very valuable to God, but that we should have more faith.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> I tend to interpret that as not gi= ving up on God.

Just as important, God cares about our mental state. There are things we cannot change = and we need to know that God will get us through them with the ability to trust and praise. I know a little about needing serenity in my life. = In 1989, I was so sure that I knew how to live because I had never failed to be able to do whatever I needed in business and private life. However, a set of circumstances ch= anged that. The corporate farming operations that I managed were acquired by a new company that began to dict= ate decisions from their corporate offices out-of-state. The result was that people in acco= unting were telling people in farming how to raise livestock. Losses in farming operations would result and no one in authority wanted to listen. My stress level went out the roof.= I was unquestionably not in contro= l of my destiny.

My stress resulted in anxiety attacks of the worst order, and I knew that 12 years of= my career with this company would be lost if I left. At the end of my rope and sinking = into depression, I found myself at church one Sunday and heard these words from Matthew 11, “Come to me, all = you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn fr= om me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy an= d my burden is light.” [3]

Anxiety = and stress can kill your outlook on life. It can smother hope. I= t can kill faith, especially the faith we have in ourselves. When that happens, if we don’= ;t have faith in God, that anxiety could kill us.

In the S= erenity Prayer we ask that God “Grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed.” The word serenity speaks about a p= eace that is beyond human grasp. T= hat serenity is peace given to people of faith who trust that God has heard the= ir cries and they wait in the knowledge that God will lovingly provide their needs, but perhaps not all their wants.&nb= sp; They lay aside their fear and anxiety. I like using the phrase: let go an= d let God.

Sometimes our happiness and contentment are sacrificed because we are unwilling to accept circumstances we can’t change. We have to give up de= siring another outcome, but our prayer asks God to grant us peace to trust him with the ultimate outcome.

Serenity could be defined as contentment, th= at state where we are ultimately satisfied.&n= bsp; God, again, has everything to do with this feeling. The apostle Paul stated, “I have learned to be content wi= th whatever I have. I know what = it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty = and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” [4]

The second point is that we need cour= age to face problems that can be changed. <= /span>Sure, that’s easy to say if God gives you great circumstances, but what abo= ut life beset with problems. Tak= e Bob for instance, Bob was in trouble. He forgot his wedding anniversary.&= nbsp; His wife was really upset with him.

She told= him “Tomorrow morning, I expect to find a gift in the driveway that goes = from 0 to 200 in 6 seconds AND IT BETTER BE THERE!

The next= morning he got up early and left for work. When his wife woke up, she looked out the window and sure enough the= re was a box gift-wrapped in the middle of the driveway.

Confused= , the wife put on her robe and ran out to the driveway, and brought the box back = to the house. She opened it and = found a brand new bathroom scale. (= Bob has been missing since Friday.) [5] Of course, not all our problems are self-inflicted.

Because Jesus reiterated God’s concern= for us, and chastened the disciples to have faith, he also encouraged them to l= et go of their worries and let God take care of them. It is true that we can’t add= one hour more to our lives by worrying. Jesus said that tomorrow is just another day, and we shouldn’t= let what might happen destroy our faith and contentment with God today. Every day does have its share of t= rouble and we need the grant of God’s serenity in this day and every day to = keep our joy in living.

The Serenity Prayer asks that we be given “the courage to change that which can be changed.” For those facing addiction, this p= rayer is especially helpful. They r= ealize that their desire for drugs or alcohol may never change, but that their behavior can, with God’s help. The despair they once may have felt for their situation has been giv= en hope by their continuing to pray for God’s power to help them change their desires despite what their bodies may crave.

Whether addiction, fear, anxiety, financial dealings, indeed, any avenue of our living requires courage. We lack it primarily because we ha= ve felt the sting of disappointment and loss and its attendant pain. Real courage isn’t about kno= wing you are the best or strongest, or the wisest. Courage comes from the knowledge t= hat God is with us in our endeavors and that even when our enemy roars like a l= ion that we can depend upon God. = The plain and simple truth we should all believe is that God is bigger than our problems. Here is a great exa= mple of courage based on faith:

One summ= er morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window, and saw a small girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his Andover, Ohio, home. Blankenship knew that fart= her downstream, the ditch disappeared with a roar underneath a road and then emptied into the main culvert. Ray dashed out the door and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the foundering child. Then he hurled himself = into the deep, churning water. Blankenship surfaced and was able to grab the chi= ld's arm. They tumbled end over end. Within about three feet of the yawning culv= ert, Ray's free hand felt something--possibly a rock-- protruding from one bank.= He clung desperately, but the tremendous force of the water tried to tear him = and the child away. "If I can just hang on until help comes," he thou= ght. He did better than that. By the time fire-department rescuers arrived, Blankenship had pulled the girl to safety. Both were treated for shock. On April 12, 1989, Ray Blankenship was awarded the Coast Guard's Silver Lifesa= ving Medal. The award is fitting, for this selfless person was at even greater r= isk to himself than most people knew. Ray Blankenship can't swim.[6]

Like Ray Blankenship didn’t know how to swim, I found out that I didn’t = know how to live. I was just exist= ing, but real life is found in relationship with God. You can cast your cares on Jesus, = he will lift your burdens. And h= e can help you turn from despair to find the things in life that can be changed, = and life will again reclaim its fullness and meaning.

Folks, it is not ours to question what God g= ives us, but we can rest in the assurance that God cares about our trials and tribulations, hears our prayers, and desires to bless us. And our faith response to receive = from God is crucial to our happiness.

The third point is to trust God with our living. The Serenity Prayer asks that we be given “the wisdom to know the one from the other.” To be able know the changeable circumstance from the unchangeable circumstance does require wisdom and courage, but I do believe that wisdom is also linked to a faith relationship with the Lord.

The apostle Paul distilled the heart of this wisdom in the fourth chapter of his epistle to the Philippians saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always; aga= in I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do n= ot worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with tha= nksgiving let your requests be made known to God.&nb= sp; And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard = your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” [7]

I know that human wisdom can fail, but looki= ng to God for the answer is the beginning of wisdom. In faith, we sometimes have to ent= er murky areas where right decisions may not feel correct. Now I can’t speak from this = pulpit to tell you which situation among millions is changeable or not. But I can speak from the Bible abo= ut wisdom.

= The story is told that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson go on a camping trip. Aft= er a good dinner and a sip of sherry, they retire for the night, and go to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and nudges his faithful friend.

= 'Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."

= I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes," replies Watson.

= "And what do you deduce from that?"

= Watson ponders for a minute. "W= ell, astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potenti= ally billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three= .

= "Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Theologically, I can = see that God is all powerful and that we are a small and insignificant part of = the universe. What does it tell you, Holmes?"

= Holmes is silent for a moment. 'Watson, you idiot!" he says. "Someone has stolen our tent!" [8]

&= nbsp; As that joke illustrates very well, head knowledge is not the same as good old common sense wisdom. Unfortun= ately, the world tends toward the Dr. Watson definition of wisdom being knowledge. All the great lear= ning in the world can’t keep someone from being foolish. Wisdom is a gift from God to those= who in faith continue in an attitude of faith asking God for direction in their living. It would almost be en= ough that the faithful could refer to this great and ageless guide we know as the Bible. However, God has also = given us the Holy Spirit to guide us. Jesus said, “When the = Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak= on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He w= ill glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”= [9]

The courage to change that which can be changed, and the wisdom to know = the one from the other both come from deep seated faith that allows God a place= in the workings of our lives. Li= stening for God’s leading and allowing God to support us is part of God’= ;s plan to grow our faith. The B= ible says, “Send out your bread up= on the waters, for after many days you will get it back.” [10] The gist of this old saying tells = us that we shouldn’t be afraid to risk, in fact, it is more prudent in t= he long run than faithlessly allowing fear to keep us from acting. There is an underlying principle h= ere: God wants us to feel confident enough to live life without fear.

&= nbsp; What we need then is the way to tap into that.&= nbsp; Jesus gave us direction for just that when he said, “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [that we worry about] will be given to you as well.” [11] Turning our eyes to Jesus we can b= elieve and know that God cares about our troubles, and we can accept with thanksgi= ving the things that God has given to us, and we can trust God for all aspects of our living. Doing so frees us= to strive after God’s kingdom with joy and peace, despite day to day troubles that will be with us until we see God’s kingdom in its fullness. Until then, we can = pray that prayer knowing God is bigger than any of our concerns and fears.<= /o:p>

&= nbsp; May God Grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed; the courage to change that which can be changed, and the wisdom to know the= one from the other, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.