“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
This was my grandmother’s favorite prayer. Growing up, I remember it being recited to me repeatedly and seeing it on the walls of her house. My young brain couldn’t even really understand what that exactly meant. Sure, I understood the premise… At least I thought. Perhaps I hadn’t been mugged by reality enough yet to where this prayer would hit home.
Ironically enough, one of the first events in my life that felt truly out of my control was the death of my angel of a grandmother. Cancer took her in a way that was hard to watch, but even in her dying days, she held onto this prayer. Last December marked 10 years since her passing.
As I grow older, I increasingly hear my grandmother’s voice telling me this prayer. It’s almost like she knew that. That I eventually would be smacked in the mouth by life and would need something to fall back on. The day a Christian earns their wings is when they fully acknowledge their lack of control over their life, accept it, and put it in God’s hands.
You can grow up believing in God, know all the scriptures by heart, and have full faith in Jesus Christ, but until you make that jump and truly let go of your life, your faith will never soar as high as possible. Life will beat you to pieces; we were never meant to control everything ourselves. It’s a much more enjoyable experience when you truly let go and let God.
This is especially true when it comes to politics. The language that our secular world operates under is politics. It’s how anything and everything gets done, whether we like it or not. Politics can be used as a weapon by Christians, but it is not our solution. Politicians often feel an overwhelming sense of power with their political saviness, and eventually convince themselves that they are indeed God.
We see many examples of this through political leaders in the Bible, but it’s no different today.
Whether you are an elected official yourself or just simply dedicated to the political process, it’s easy to make politics our God. It gives us a sense of control. If I can just get elected, then I’ll be okay. Then I can have control. Or, if I can just get this person elected, they’ll save me. The democratic process is a beautiful thing and has enabled our country to operate for 250 years.
It, however, is not God.
The key to true peace is to aim for becoming a vessel for the Holy Spirit. If you let go and let God achieve his will through you, not only will you have ultimate peace, but God will make you a serious weapon for his kingdom.
Philippians 4:7 states, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
You must surrender, first and foremost, for God to be allowed into your heart.
God is a gentleman and will not force himself where he is not wanted. Relinquish control over your life, stop white-knuckling your existence. Once you do that, God will use you in ways you cannot even comprehend.
On this Mother’s Day weekend, I thank my grandmother for instilling this wisdom in me. She was taken from us far too soon, as the best ones often are. But I’ll always lean on the serenity prayer that she burned into me. Life is brutal and unfair, but God is just and righteous. Lay your life into the hands of the eternal, rather than this world, and you’ll be in good hands.
Justin “JP” Plott is the executive producer/co-host of “The Rightside with Allison and Amie Beth” and co-owner of Rightside Media. You can find him on X @JPRightside. Watch “The Rightside with Allison and Amie Beth” every weekday from 10am-12pm CT at www.rightsidemedia.org.
