ACCEPT THE SITUATION: EXPECT THE CHANGE

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. ACCEPT THE SITUATION 1. CREATION We must accept the way God has created us. Rom 9:19-20/Ps 139:13-16 2. POSITION We must accept the position God has given us. God has given us different gifts, abilities and functions according to His will. We must accept the position and function that God has given us and not aspire to copy somebody else. Like different parts of the body, the Lord has given us a specific role to play and we must be faithful to fulfill the responsibility given to us and develop and utilize the gifts that God has given to us. 1 Cor 12:8-31/Rom 12:1-8 3.DECISION We must accept God's decision. When God chooses to act in our life in a manner that is different from what we desire, we must accept God's decision. 2 Cor 12:1-10 4. PERMISSION We must accept what God permits in our life Job 1:1-22/ John 13:10-11 5. CORRECTION We must accept God's correction in our life. God disciplines us and wants us to have a great future. We must accept the consequences of our wrong actions. Heb 12:5-13/2 Sam 12:1-33 6. LIMITATION We must accept the limitations and the boundaries that God has set I our life. We must not exceed the limits and go into forbidden territory as it will be destructive to us. 1 sam 13:5-14/ Mark 10:35-40 7. REVELATION We must accept God's revelation for our life. Sometimes the revelation of God may be different from our plans and dreams. It may be difficult for us to accept when it disturbs our comfort zone and leads us in directions which we are accustomed to. We must also accept what God chooses not to reveal to us. Luke 1:26-38/ Acts 9:10-16 EXPECT THE CHANGE 1. EXALTATION We can expect God to bless us and exalt us and prosper us. We must believe God to bless us and lift us up. 1 Chr 4:9-10/ Luke 5:1-10 2. LIBERATION We must expect God to liberate and set us free from the bondage of Satan. Act 10:38/Mark 5:24-34 3. TRANSFORMATION We must expect God to transform our lives and use us for His glory. 1 Cor 15:9-10 4. RESTORATION We must expect God to restore us if we have failed him. Luke 22:31-34 5. FORMATION We must expect God to transform us into the image of Christ. We should not remain in the same spiritual condition without growing into maturity. God loves us as we are but He does not leave us as we are. He wants us to be changed into the likeness of Christ so that those who see us can see Christ in us. Gal 4:19/ Rom 8:29 6. JUBILATION We must expect God to change our sorrows into joy. We may have experienced tragedies or disappointments which have filled us with great sorrow. But we should not resign ourselves to live in sorrow for the rest of our lives. We must allow the Lord to comfort us and heal our broken hearts and turn our sorrow into joy. John 16:20/Ps 30:11/Isa 61:1-3 7. CORONATION We must expect the Lord to crown us when we have finished our race faithfully. 2 Tim 4:6-8/1 John 3:2-3