Word of the Week - Serenity

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6

Serenity

The definition of Serenity is a state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled regardless of your circumstance.  Having Serenity allows us to stay calm, present, and true to our core values during tumultuous life experiences. It is an ability to surrender control of circumstances to God while taking responsibility and ownership for our part.  Serenity and the peace that comes from experiencing serenity is an antidote to stress and anxiety. “This will bring health to your body and nourishments to your bones” Proverbs 3:8

Walking in Serenity

“Lord, I pray you would give me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that need to be changed and the wisdom to discern one from the other”.  I am not sure exactly who originated the prayer in its current form but my brief research implies it was originated in 1932 by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, who according to “Wikipedia” is reported to have used the prayer as the last part of a longer prayer.  Nonetheless, it has been used by many faith-based and civic organizations & programs over the years, especially for people who are working to overcome addictions.  I know this simple prayer has helped millions of people over the years find peace, freedom, and Serenity. 

Personal Application of Serenity Prayer

This prayer has been a go to for me as long as I can remember, and has served as a foundational prayer I draw upon when I am facing the challenging circumstances of life.  I was first introduced to the prayer by my father-in-law, Bill Dore’ over 35 years ago.  He is a very successful entrepreneur and has mentored me over the years in life and business.  I remember him quoting the serenity prayer way back in the day in the context of a business, acknowledging that there are some things in life that we simply should accept as reality, and then discern our role and responsibility in dealing with the challenge or circumstance we are facing. I have placed my faith and trust in God through this prayer many times over the past 35 years through many life challenges.  I have used it often in our business over the past 25 years.  As an M&A deal transaction advisor, we are dependent upon many factors (capital markets, family dynamics, financial performance, personal moods and motivations etc.) outside of our control for a deal to close.  It is typically a binary outcome where if the deal either closes we get paid a success fee, but if it doesn’t close, we don’t get paid our success fee even though we put in the work, which is typically thousands of man hours.  This can be costly and quite discouraging.  This is why I love and use the Serenity prayer and encourage our team in this prayer.  So much so that the Serenity prayer is hanging on the wall in our conference room at the office.    

Surrender and Trust

The most important element to finding Serenity is placing our trust in God and believing that He knows best and desires what is best for us. “If God is for us, who can be against us” Romans 8:31 Serenity is a byproduct of surrender.  When we know and trust God we can surrender by faith and experience the peace and serenity that comes; “The peace of God that transcends understanding, that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6 We are simply acknowledging who God is and who we are.  It is so amazing that God desires for us to partner with Him.  He has a role for each one of us in His great plan for mankind, but we must not forget that it is His plan and not ours.  When we are walking in this truth under the covering of Jesus, we experience peace and serenity.  “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

Eternal Perspective

A few years back I discovered the second part of the Serentiy Prayer, which I had never heard before:

“Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardships as a pathway to peace, Taking, as He 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, That I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next”

We all desire to experience peace and serenity during our time on this earth, and I believe that the Lord desires this for us.  But the reality is that we live in a fallen world, so the things of earth typically do not work out perfectly.  Having an eternal perspective allows us to recognize that the hardships of this life are what are refining us into the image of Christ.  There is purpose in the pain.  As we put our hope and trust in Jesus, we realize that the things of eternity, beyond our life on earth, are what really matter. This helps us in managing our expectations while we are here.  So, we can be “reasonably happy” while here, and look forward to being “supremely happy” with Jesus for eternity. 

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

I pray you experience Serenity that comes from knowing and trusting the Lord.

-Duane