I remember way back (into 1987) when I first read the Serenity Prayer:
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;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
I was sitting in an Ala-non meeting in 1987, when I was introduced to this prayer; estranged from an alcoholic husband, trying to make sense and gain wisdom on what to do next, with a baby on my knee. We have probably heard the first part of that prayer, but rarely the second part, which is the explanation of what it means. It impacted me, though, and thus I have sought wisdom to know the difference ever since.
Truly, the Lord says it a different way:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3, 5-6
(Hmmmm…..I like the second better than the first, actually.)
I have been musing before the Throne lately, about my path and direction in this life for Jesus! Who am I, really, for You Father? But, even in uncertainty and change - do I trust Him, without reservation or hesitation or a care - that is how I trust the Lord.
The Lord gave me a vision in 1998, about unity of His body. It crossed denominational lines and barriers, lived outside doctrine and tradition, and was a photograph of Agape.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 talks about the application of Agape (sacrificial love):
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
If Love has a name and it is called Jesus, what has happened to the Church? Division, strife, competition, rules, doctrine and tradition…. whose kingdom are we building? The kingdom of God or the kingdom of man (cloaked in church such-and-such?)
Why isn’t it one in the same anymore, Lord? Why can’t we just be and share and love You as a body of believers (a FAMILY of brothers and sisters)? Why is it still “oh I can’t come there because I belong to THIS building or I can’t minister there because I tithe at THIS building…..). It has even gotten to the point where leaders minister from the position of how it affects “their ministries” instead of the Kingdom of heaven!
YUCK!
I remember a vision once told by a prophet named Rick Joyner. In his vision, he saw a prison with people in a large yard or compound. They were running around begging for freedom (even though the Lord has made HUGE holes in the fences for escape to Him that they just could not see). And, in the watchtower, guards stood, heavily armed and ready to fire with loaded guns. They kept the people in order, and dictated to them what they should do, when they should do it, etc. It really appeared like a scene out of any movie where Federal prison is portrayed….
The ugly truth was in that vision, the people were the believers, the compound and prison were the current buildings that represented individual churches and the guards were the individual pastors, protecting THEIR sheep, and prohibiting them from not only being ONE, but from coming to the Lord.
Yet, the Lord’s agenda is not division and separatism. It is unity!
Jesus Himself says in Matthew 23:37-39 says:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’”
Are we to remain so unwilling to gather when He says things like:
"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." John 12:32.
I promise, Lord, I will NOT let go of the vision you gave me for Your Church. I will continue to preach it and live its conviction by vocation until it comes to fruition. I will not waiver or compromise it. I will not throw my pearls to the swine in spite of it.
You are my God and in YOU I find peace and rest!
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.
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