How the Holy Spirit Provides Us With the Serenity to Accept the Things We Cannot Change, the Courage to Change the Things We Can and the Wisdom to Know the Difference 2 Cor. 12:9-12
Quote: Adaptability is a great ability
Illustration:Years ago, Frank Lloyd Wright was given the impossible task of building the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. No comparable construction job ever before had been undertaken. With patience he laid plans for the immense building in this land of earth-quakes and terrible tremors. After carefully reviewing the situation, he found that eight feet below the surface of the ground lay a sixty-foot bed of soft mud. Why not float the great structure on this and in some way make it absorb the shock of the earthquake? After four years of work, amid ridicule and jeers of skeptical onlookers, this most difficult building in the world was completed, and soon arrived the day which tested it completely. The worst earthquake in fifty-two years caused houses and buildings all around to tumble and fall in ruins. But the Imperial Hotel stood, because it was able to adjust itself to the tremors of the earth.
A. Smith, in Resources, #2.
1. The Holy Spirit provides us everything we need to complete God’s will for our life through His all sufficient grace. Paul wrote, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."(2 Cor. 12:9) The Spirit provides God’s gracious serenity, courage and wisdom just when we need them most. Ask the Lord to provide you with His peace, boldness and insight necessary to carry out all of God’s plans for you today.
2. The Holy Spirit gives us the peace that passes human comprehension when we cast all of our cares upon the Lord. Paul wrote, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests, be made known to God. And the peace of God that passes comprehension will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:6-8) The Spirit of God has a supernatural ability to provide us with the greatest kind of serenity, tranquility and calm when we call to Him in Jesus name. Ask the Lord for peace of mind in all your relationships and challenges today. The people who are able to remain emotionally calm when others do not are the ones God uses.
3. The Holy Spirit gives courage to those who are willing to meditate on His promises. God told Joshua, "Be strong and courageous and act. Do not fear or be dismayed, for the Lord God goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work of the house of God is finished." (Joshua 1:9) Only after the Lord told Joshua to meditate on His word throughout the day was the man of God ready to be courageous in the Lords’ mighty power. Do not think that you can muster up your own courage to wage spiritual battles, otherwise you may get nothing but pyrrhic victories (winning short term battles at too great of a long term cost). Ask the Lord to help you be courageous with His mighty power enabling you to win spiritual battles that are worth fighting.
4. The Holy Spirit gives you wisdom to make the most discerning decisions in every situation if you will ask Him for help. James wrote, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5) The Spirit promises that He is eager and able to provide us with the wisdom, clearheadedness, and perceptiveness to make the wisest decisions in every circumstance. Be willing to do your part in acquiring all the wisdom that is available through obedience, research and being teachable in all your interactions. Ask the Lord to fill you with the knowledge of His will in ALL spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you can walk in a way that pleases Him in all respects and bears fruit in every good work, while increasing in the knowledge of God." (Col. 1:9-11)
5. The Holy Spirit gives you just the right balance of serenity, courage and wisdom in Christ Jesus. Paul wrote, "In Him (Christ) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Col. 2:3) The Spirit has a miraculous way of harmoniously combining elements of peace, boldness and insights to help facilitate all that the Lord wants us to accomplish. Ask the Lord to balance your peace, courage and wisdom so as to avoid the errors of becoming so concerned about one aspect that you become an extreme pacifist, an extreme warrior, or an extreme intellectual.
6. The Holy Spirit grants the gifts of serenity, courage and wisdom as long as you are trusting and obeying the Lord in the essential commands of God. The Lord only provides His gracious enabling to those who are walking in a way that pleases the Lord by doing His will. Other types of serenity, courage or wisdom may actually be from the world, the flesh or the devil. Do not be taken in by counterfeit forms of peace, boldness or human wisdom. Ask the Lord to help you concentrate on carrying out His priorities with perfect trust and obedience to His will.
7. The Holy Spirit helps us learn more about acquiring greater measures of serenity, courage and wisdom from Godly examples. The writer of Hebrews wrote, "Remember those who led you; who spoke the word of God to you. Considering the outcome of their way of life, imitate their faith." (Heb. 13:7)
Ask the Lord to help you learn a great deal from Godly examples of men and women who consistently exhibit serenity under pressure, courage during intense opposition and wisdom in times of great confusion.
