God, grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Change is something we can’t avoid. We will all experience some kind of sickness. Accidents will happen. We will fail at some things. There will likely be a job loss or job transition that is stressful. We may have to learn something entirely new in order to provide for our families.
Life happens! There are the ‘mountain top’ experiences when life is good and we feel we are living the dream and then, before we know it, we are in a ‘valley’, when life is dry and everything seems hard.
In those seasons, we need to look for the treasure and the opportunities. What can we learn and gain? Often, when we think about change, we think about how hard it is or what it will cost us. Don’t focus on what change will cost you. Think of what you will gain. Maybe you will learn something that will stand you in good stead in the future.
Where you find yourself now is not where you are always going to remain. If you are in an unwanted or pressure-filled season, it won’t last forever. Don’t let your current difficulty define your future destination. Sometimes we adopt the mindset that our current situation is the way it will always be. You can’t tell what is ahead for you just based on your current situation. Don’t assume the worst. What you are experiencing is a chapter in the story of your life; it isn’t the entire book. Don’t let a chapter become the entire book!
Often, we are desperate to move through unwanted seasons as quickly as possible. Sometimes, in our desire to move on, we move impulsively and make bad decisions that have lasting consequences. Resist the urge to make a permanent decision based on a temporary circumstance. In six months, things could be different in your life. If you can take heart in the truth that your current struggle is not forever, you can be more peaceful and not panic as you walk through this season. Change and hard times challenge us to walk by faith and not by sight.
Resist the urge to define whether life is good or bad only by what you are experiencing and feeling. We can’t always trust our feelings. They change quickly. So, when change comes and we don’t like it, we have a choice. We can choose to accept that life is full of transitions, or we can live in frustration.
Whatever season you are in, embrace it right now and know it will pass!
Liam
For 16 years, Liam’s life was a mess. Prison, overdoses and then some. Now he lives in Bournemouth, with his wife and four children, and leads Hope Community Church. He has become one of our regular speakers at Fixed.