Chapter 6 - Serenity

I attend a Celebrate Recovery group on Friday nights where I play keyboard on the worship band. 

Tonight the teaching was about 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 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;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next. 

Amen.

God gave me a swift kick in the butt through this teaching. The first comes from the very first line, "God grant me the serenity." 

The teacher asked what kinds of things we use to try and find serenity. Some try to find it with relationships, or alcohol, or shopping. My go-to is food. When I am upset, I usually turn to food first. Then, I turn to watching tv. Sometimes I turn to shopping - often for things I really don't need. Then, when all my go-to's are exasperated, I turn to God. 

Turns out I have the whole process upside down. 

What would happen if I turned to God first? I mean, the very first word of the Prayer is "God". 

So, God gave me a challenge. Before I go to anything else when I am upset or discouraged or emotional, I will go to Him.

The second kick came from the words of one of the songs we sang: "Make me who I'm meant to be." I know that God has big plans for me, just like he does for everyone. The problem is that I have become complacent in where I am at this moment. I have an exam coming up that I should be studying for, but I'm mostly not. I need to be diligently seeking a job, but I'm mostly not. Instead, I just keep putting it off and enjoying what I am doing right now - nothing. I like having no schedule. I like not studying. I like being at home. I am content to not move forward.

God is telling me to get out of this slump, to stop being complacent and satisfied with the mundane. He has given me all I need to be who I am meant to be. But, I can't get there by watching Netflix. 

Becoming "who I am meant to be" requires action. I need to start taking action. I have to move out of complacency and doing what is easy so I can move forward to the place God has planned for me. 

Why would I want to delay God's best for my life?

There's my 2 challenges. Go to God first, and move forward.  In doing so, I can be "reasonably happy in this life."