Serenity

Lesedauer 2 Minuten

Serenity, inner calm is an inner attitude, the ability, especially in difficult situations, to maintain composure or an unbiased attitude. It is the opposite of restlessness, excitement, nervousness and stress (source Wikipedia). It is often not easy to be or remain calm when we are faced with challenges and difficult situations. When things happen that we are not in control of, it is not easy to be calm. Nevertheless, we should practice serenity every day in the various situations and strive more and more for inner peace. Inner peace regardless of what happens around us. Serenity is good for our health, and the Bible even says that serenity extends our lives (see Proverbs 14:30).

What helps us to be calm? To be calm I need the confidence that my situation will turn out for the better. But what do I put my trust in? On my own strength, on having everything under control or maybe on other people? I need a foundation that I stand on, that gives me security and that I can rely on. Our own strength has its limits, it is impossible to have everything under control and we cannot rely on others either. There is only one that we can 100% rely on and trust in all of our circumstances. I mean the God of the Bible. If we build our house of life on Christ, if he is our foundation, nothing and no one will upset us so quickly.

“Even when the earth shakes and people are in turmoil, it is I who give support to their foundations” Psalm 75: 4

“For no one can lay a foundation other than that which has already been laid – Jesus Christ” 1 Corinthians 3:11

Faith in God helps me not to look at the circumstances but to focus my gaze on God. The certainty that God is there and that He has a good plan gives me serenity. He has everything under control, I don’t have to have everything under control myself. That’s why I can stay calm inside. God walks with me through challenges and difficulties. I can let myself fall into his hands. I can’t fall any deeper than in God’s hand. When I lose peace, I can keep reminding myself how great and mighty God is and that nothing is impossible for him. Don’t tell God how big your problem, but tell your problem how big is your god.

Serenity prayer (Reinhold Niebuhr): God give me the serenity to accept things that I can’t change, the courage to change things that I can change and the wisdom to distinguish one from the other. To live one day at a time to enjoy one moment at a time. To accept deprivation as a way to peace. To accept this sinful world as Jesus did and not in the way I would like them to be. To trust that you’ll do everything right if I give myself to your will, so that I may be pretty happy in this life and in the next forever overjoyed with you. Amen.

Steadfast in a shaken time

Lesedauer 4 Minuten

Last weekend we celebrated Easter, the Resurrection of Jesus. Many of us will surely remember this Easter. It was different than usual. A lot of what we associate with this day h disappeared this year. Churches were closed, there were no big family celebrations and we spent the Easter days at home with the closest family. And yet: Easter has not failed, what Jesus did for us 2000 years ago is a gift that is valid today and forever for everyone who accepts it in faith.


“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him is not lost, but has eternal life.” John 3:16


I think this year was an opportunity to deal more consciously with the Easter message and to think about what Easter personally means for our lives today. In the midst of this challenging time, in which many things that promise us security, the foundations of the world are shaken, amidst uncertainty, fears for the future, worries, God gives us joy and hope. The salvation work of Jesus creates an unshakable kingdom that cannot be destroyed by anything. The whole world has come to a standstill and has to stop. Everything stands still, we are in a forced break. We get the opportunity to slow down, stop and think about our life.

    How we invest our time?
    What is our foundation?
    What is precious to us?
    What is permanent?
    What is unshakable?
    What can we ultimately rely on?
    What makes sense in our life?

It is important to grapple with these questions every now and then so that we can focus our lives on what is unshakable and so that we do not miss our goal. Since there are a lot of distractions in this time, worldly things that can capture our hearts, now is the opportunity to deal with what is really important.


A solid foundation


“Whoever listens to me and acts accordingly is smart and acts like a man who builds a house on solid rock. Even if the rain rushes down from the sky in torrents, the water overflows and the storms shake this house, it won’t collapse because it’s built on rock. But whoever listens to me and does not act on it is a fool; he’s like a man building a house on sand. When the rain and the flood come and the storms shake this house, it will collapse with a roar. ”



These verses remind us of the importance of our personal relationship with God. A living relationship in which we focus on him, get to know him better and better, put him at the center of our lives and believe and trust him.


“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end” Hebrews 12: 2


If we strengthen our faith and trust in Jesus and grow in our relationship with Him by seeking His presence and closeness, we can hear and act His voice better and better. This is how our faith comes to life and we can use his word more and more, live it and implement it in our everyday life. A life centered on Jesus Christ stands on a firm foundation. His kingdom is imperishable and endures. It is built on a solid foundation. Heaven and earth will pass away, but his kingdom will last forever. Our house will stand on a solid rock and no storm will bring it down. So we don’t put our confidence in something transient, but build our lives on Christ and his unshakable kingdom.


“Once again I will shake the earth, and also the sky. This means once again: everything that God has created, he will change from scratch. Only the eternal will remain, which cannot be shaken. ”Hebrews 12, 26-27


Everything that shakes us in life, every crisis offers an opportunity and has the potential to keep our eyes on the unshakable.

God’s love, his promises, his word, his faithfulness and protection, his blessings and his victory over death and the powers of darkness, all of this is unshakable.


“So since we receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken, we want to be thankful and make God happy by serving Him in reverence for His Holiness.” Hebrews 12:28

“Lord, your word remains forever as far as the heavens reach” Psalm 119,89

“That is why we want to continue to hold on to the hope we confess because God is faithful to His promises” Hebrews 10:23

“I, the LORD, do not change” Malachi 3,6

“But this is eternal life that they will recognize you, who you are the only true God, and whom you have sent, Jesus Christ” John 17.3

“Jesus Christ yesterday and today and the same forever” Hebrews 13: 8

“And God assured this: He gave us eternal life, and this life is in his son.” 1 John 5:11

“No one is holy like the LORD, except you is none, and is not a rock as our God is.” 1 Samuel 2: 2

“God has called you to His eternal glory through Christ [4]. After suffering for a while, it will build you up, strengthen you, and strengthen you; and he will put you on firm ground. ”1 Peter 5:10

“And God will open the gates of heaven wide and let you enter the eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.” 2 Peter 1:11

“That we don’t see the visible, but the invisible. Because what is visible is temporal; but what is invisible is eternal. ”2 Corinthians 4:18

“And the world passes with its lust; but whoever does the will of God remains forever. ”1 John 2:17

“Your throne, oh God, stands forever and ever” Hebrews 1: 8

“Lord, in the beginning you laid the foundation of the earth, heaven is the work of your hands.
They will go away, but you stay forever. They will become out of date like a robe.
You will change them like a garment and they will be gone. But you remain the same forever and ever; your years have no end. ”Hebrews 1, 10-12