Proverbs 21:21
September 13, 2020SerenityProverbs 3:21-26Rev. Christina ThompsonThe Book of Proverbs is stuck after the book of Psalms and is often an overlooked Book of the Bible. We might know a few of the more famous proverbs and may even have Proverbs 3:5-6 highlighted or even memorized. But for the most part, Proverbs is an underutilized book that just seems to have odd sayings that do not connect to anything. However, within the Book of Proverbs is a wealth of wisdom. Those seemingly odd sayings are actually very wise says that help us through the nitty gritty of life. Proverbs 16:16 “How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.”Proverbs 21:21 “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness?will find life and honour.”Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart,?and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him,?and he will make straight your paths.”Many of the books of the Bible deal with larger issues of the world, like the struggle of good and evil, and the ideas about the end of time. Proverbs deals with these issues too, but just on a much smaller scale and give us practical wisdom to help us through our day and know how to behave and respond to people. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a?harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1Not only do these proverbs give us tips to make it through the day, they remind us that God is in the nitty gritty of our day and God is in the details of our lives. These Proverbs find God in the details of how we deal with our neighbors, our families, how we work and play and even address what we should eat.Proverbs 15:17 “Better is a dinner of vegetables where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with?it.”Proverbs in a very practical way helps us to address the anxiety of the world that we live in.Even before this pandemic, anxiety, worry, fear were a big part of our lives. This pandemic and the events of this current time have exacerbated the anxiety we feel.Anxiety is distress caused by uneasiness of the mind – caused by fear of danger or what bad things “could-maybe-possibility-happen-later”. Anxiety causes us to play out in our heads very bad scenarios that could happen--- most of which will not happen. Then we become stuck in a cage of worry with no way out.Anxiety shuts down our awareness—our awareness of God’s presence, our connection to others and our awareness of what actually is happening—not what we assume will happen. We don’t like anxiety so we try to cover it with other things which simply mask or numb us to the anxiety but does not provide us any lasting peace.Proverbs helps us find peace in a more successful way—through the wisdom of scripture, and in our belovedness as children of God.These simple proverbs put anxiety in perspective and help us seek a greater measure of serenity that so many of us are seeking. They offer the spiritual benefit of centeredness and growth that helps us in every area of life. American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr expressed it this way in what we now call the serenity prayer. , God, grant me the serenityto accept the things I cannot change,the courage to change the things I can,and the wisdom to know the difference.For these next four weeks we are going to look at parts of this prayer to help us fight anxiety and to truly find God’s peace in this anxious world. God grant me the serenity. Let’s start here. First, it tells us that we find serenity from God. God is the one who grants us this sense of peace. Not anything we do, but through God.What is serenity? Serenity comes from the Latin word serenus meaning clear or without clouds and is the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled.In the weeks in late August when we get socked in with smoke, it is hard to see the foothills, anything far into the distance and even the stars. The sun and moon become a very odd blood red color. While this summer was certainly not as bad as previous summers, with the days when it was smoky there was an uncertainty of the air quality. Will the AQI (air quality index) be in the red meaning that sport practices can’t happen and we should not walk outside? There was uncertainty in those smoky days. Plus, there was the anxiety of knowing that smoke was coming from devastating forest fires that were directly affecting people. But then, the weather patterns changed and the smoke cleared out and we could see the foothills and the stars again and the sun and moon are no longer that weird deep red. Certainly by watching the news, the fires are not gone, just the weather patterns have shifted. But the sky is clear. This is a good example of serenity. Not that chaos, anxiety of the world is gone. Just our way of thinking has shifted. We have found God in our day to day life and found this sense of calm, peace and being untroubled.“Serenity is a state that knows no disturbance, brooks no intrusion, and offers a deep oneness with both oneself and the creation of the universe.” Hannah Kardon, teaching pastor for Urban Village Church.*Serenity comes from understanding the role of God in our lives and seeking and following the wisdom and instructions of God. Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, for fools despise wisdom and instruction.”Fear of the Lord means awe/reverence of God. So serenity comes from being in awe of God and knowing that God is present and at work in our daily lives and in throughout the world. This is what Proverbs 3: 21-26 says about finding serenity in God. “My child, do not let these escape from your sight: keep sound wisdom and prudence, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely???and your foot will not stumble. If you sit down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden panic,?or of the storm that strikes the wicked; for the Lord will be your confidence,??and will keep your foot from being caught.” What blessing those words give to us. My child be attentive to my words for they will provide life to those who find them. They will provide healing for the flesh. When you follow the instructions of God, you will walk safely on the path and your foot won’t stumble. This scripture describes the anxiety free state of serenity when the clouds are gone and the way is clear. In this sense of serenity, our sleep is sweet, we do not have to fear and we have no reason to anticipate disaster. We can just live in today knowing that God is present guiding us and will help us find solutions to the challenges we face.“For if wisdom and understanding are in our pocket and the Lord is on our side, fear need not be part of our lives.” Hannah Kardon, teaching pastor for Urban Village Church.*But how do we find this serenity? How do we find this space of no fear in our lives?Our connection with othersIn our Relationship with God Spiritual practices that deepen our relationship with God. Our connection with others, especially those who are also on this spiritual path seeking serenity, helps us find this serenity of God. This is much harder in this time of pandemic, but still so important. The more we can find a connection with others, whether through the phone, through a ZOOM or Google meet, or even through a letter, can help us find that human connection. Even just praying for people, holding them close in prayer can help with that connection. Connection with people also gives us the space to connect with people of different opinions, different cultures and different ways of dealing with anxiety.Our connection with others help us to practice and learn from others how to have this relationship with God. Connection reminds us that we are not alone in this journey. 2) We find serenity in our relationship with God. The more we connect to God, the more we follow God’s lead, the more we experience that state of uncloudiness. Our relationship with God helps us to know that we do not have to have all the answers to how to tackle the issues in our lives and in the world. God walks with us and works with us to find ways forward. The uncloudy spiritual day comes as we work on and deepen our relationship with God. We do this through spaces of rest, reading scripture, following God’s instructions and through Spiritual Practices. 3) Spiritual practices are in essence small sessions, built upon each other that allow us to work on finding serenity in a relationship with God. Spiritual practices anchor ourselves into the heart of God and anchor God in our hearts. Henry Nouwen, a Dutch catholic priest and theologian says this “From prayer come intimacy, from intimacy with God comes wisdom and trust, and from abiding in that wisdom we live into serenity.”*So we receive serenity from a lifelong practice of seeking space and time with God. These lifelong practices involve many spiritual practices, many relationships, many practices and habits all working in concert together to bring us closer to God and closer to the wisdom and serenity that trust in God can offer. Seeing clearly, finding serenity and keeping it requires many relationships, many practices and habits done often which working together in the spirit of God. As we do these things we are brought closer to God and closer to the wisdom and serenity that trust in God offers to us. From the words of the secular song, I can see clearly now, the rain is Gone. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. Look around, nothing but blue skies. (From the song, I can see clearly now written by Jimmy Cliff, sung by Jonny Nash) Quotes marked with * come from Finding Peace in an Anxious World copywrite 2020 United Methodist Women. All rights reserved. Used by permission. ................
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