Have you ever thought, “If I just had ___ I would be okay”? Fill in the blank with money, a spouse, a new job, whatever. Per our human nature, there’s always a want that we wish to fulfill, much like our daily hunger and thirst. We labor and toil in an effort to fulfill this want. Sometimes we succeed. Sometimes we don’t. But we always return back to a state of wanting.
If only we could just get to that state of peace and satisfaction. A place where we lack nothing. A good word to describe this tranquil and ideal state of being is serenity. If serenity were illustrated through a picture you would witness a portrait of a smiling family or a landscape of undisturbed snow. Everything looks well, and in fact, everything is well. There are no worries, no concerns, no troubles.
When serenity is found in our lives, the same becomes true about us. Our relationships are running smoothly, along with work, and we feel an unbridled connection to God. Serenity sounds great, perfect even, but is serenity possible or just a figment of human imagination?
According to Scripture, serenity is indeed real, but biblical serenity may be a bit different than how we understand the word.
What Does the Bible Say about Serenity?
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.” (John 14:27)
The word serenity does not appear in most English translations of Scripture today. However, the idea of serenity is expressed, and we find that through another word, peace. The Bible talks a great deal about peace and how to achieve it. In these descriptions, an important distinction is made. There are two different types of peace.
The first type is not what Jesus offers but is a kind of peace that we all know, worldly peace. It’s brief, circumstantial, and at best, a great distraction. Think of countries that make peace so long as they garner monetary benefits or a man who feels the effects of a stressful job but finds peace through video gaming. Remove the money, and suddenly the countries are in conflict. Remove the games, and the man has to face his troubles.
This sort of peace is not automatically wrong. Citizens benefit from countries not being at war because people get to live instead of dying in war. Likewise, the man can de-stress by playing a video game, but he will still have to tackle the stressor eventually. Worldly peace becomes detrimental when we live by it instead of seeking the peace God offers.
What Scripture helps us understand in this verse from the Book of John is that the peace we find in God is greater than the world. Why? Godly peace, or serenity, gives us all the benefits of worldly peace, plus some, and none of the cons. Godly peace is not circumstantial.
We can find serenity even in the face of adversity, like when Paul wrote with joy and faithfulness from a prison cell in Rome. This is also why godly peace is not a distraction. We can see the problems around us, but the weight they once carried is suddenly light. We can bear any and everything because we have God’s help.
Another distinction is that godly peace comes from…God. Worldly peace is found in the world through items that decay and human relationships that fade away. God is good and perfect always, and His love for us endures forever (Psalm 118:29). Godly peace is the ideal serenity that we imagine.
So if we attain this serenity in our lives, what would that look like?
What Does a Life with Serenity Look Like?
Though we live different lives with varying jobs, family structures, and depths of faith, the serenity we envision is all the same. We’re each chasing an end result of calmness throughout every aspect of life. What we also discover is that we chase after serenity multiple times in life. In fact, we’re always seeking serenity. If worldly peace is momentary, godly peace appears the same. However, the two are different.
Serenity doesn’t have to be temporary, but often is because of our sin, specifically the sin of doubt and worry. The loss of a job can knock us off-balance, or the ending of a meaningful relationship. When our serenity is disrupted, we try again to find it, even if not immediately. When we do achieve serenity in our lives, we find ourselves at ease within our relationships. People that made us happy, suddenly help us experience joy - a longer sustained happiness. We feel more grateful for their presence, conversations, and gifts.
When we work, jobs that brought satisfaction bring even more. Occupations that felt like a burden are now manageable. You may even find yourself going into work with a smile, greeting those coworkers who have an animus towards you. In school, serenity brings mental clarity when tackling homework, projects, and class presentations. Where the feeling of being overwhelmed once bogged you down, now you can handle one task at a time with precision.
When we find serenity with God, much like with people, we appreciate Him so much more. We recognize that even when He doesn’t answer prayers in our timing, He still loves us. When we don’t get what we want, He still loves us. This is a life with serenity, and this is a life that we all want. But how do we get there, especially when circumstances happen to us that bring us low?
How Do You Get Serenity?
As we concluded, we chase after serenity, we get it, then at some point, we seem to lose it again. No matter which part of the cycle you’re on, we can consistently achieve serenity by doing these three things: trusting, giving thanks, and praying to God.
Trusting God
“You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you” (Isaiah 26:3).
Worldly peace requires trust in people, items, and ourselves, but all of these things are temporary, and often unreliable. God is reliable, and that fact never changes. When we put our trust in Him, we find long-lasting serenity because we recognize that He doesn’t change with circumstances. Thus, His serenity can’t be stripped from us. God also doesn’t require us to be wealthy to trust Him, be intelligent to trust Him, or powerful. We simply have to make that choice, though, making the choice is not always simple. But there is something we can do to work on our trusting ability.
Giving Thanks to God
“Give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
What helps us trust God is a grand amount of thanksgiving, a lot of saying, “Thank you.” We can never thank Him enough for what He has done, deeds we see and those we don’t, but Scripture commands us to thank Him all the same. By giving thanks, we acknowledge for God and for ourselves, the magnitude of His power. Much like we thank people in our lives for their support, we should do the same for God who does abundantly more.
Praying to God
“I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs” (Luke 11:8).
We don’t receive serenity without making some sacrifices. What should we sacrifice? The most immediate things to give away are worry, fear, and control. God desires to hear our prayers, whether in a state of glee or despair. He’s ready to listen. If we approach Him in our most vulnerable state, we can exchange all of those bad feelings for something peaceful. And we should do this over and over, whenever those emotions manifest.
Certainly, there was a time when I was searching for peace and calmness. Some days that is still the case. Is the same true for you? Are you on a quest for more serenity in your life? If so, no matter how long the journey has been, do not give up hope. Where there is God, there is hope. Worldly peace is temporary. As sinful humans, we lose sight of our Lord often, too often. But much like the Prodigal Son, we can come back home. And we know the process for finding serenity: trust God, give Him thanks, and pray, pray, pray. Then we’ll say. Today, Serenity has entered my life.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/ChrisHackett
Aaron D'Anthony Brown is a freelance writer, hip-hop dance teacher, and visual artist, living in Virginia. He currently contributes to Salem Web Network’s Crosswalk platform and supports various clients through the freelancing website Upwork. He's an outside-the-box thinker with a penchant for challenging the status quo.
Get in touch with him at aarondanthony.com and check out his debut short story anthology Honey Dreams on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.