While
sifting through my childhood toys, I happened upon some Weebles.
What are
they- and what do they do?
“...an egg-shaped
Weeble causes a weight located at the bottom-center to be lifted off the
ground. Once released, gravitational force brings the Weeble back into an
upright position... The popular catchphrase,
‘Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down.’ was used in advertising during
their rise in popularity...”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weeble
As I was
reunited with these toys, I remembered how, in my playtime, I often tried to
put my Weebles to bed, lying them on their sides, only to watch them quickly spring
to their vertical stance again. There was no keeping these suckers down.
“Weebles wobble but they don’t fall
down.”
You better
believe it.
Therefore,
reacquainting myself with them in my adult life, I now view them through the recovery/struggle
context and the famous Serenity Prayer:
“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.”
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”
Indeed, there
is some Weeble revelation to be found, should we choose to embrace it.
First,
God is addressed:
“God
grant me...”
Right away, we need to acknowledge our Source. What is it?
“God is a Spirit: and
they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
John 4:24
Concerning addiction, we often get it wrong as most of us
already possess a unique vulnerability to our personal manmade substitutes. This
makes us wobbly.
“What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For
its maker trusts in his own handiwork when he fashions
speechless idols... And there is no breath at all inside it.”
Habakkuk 2:18-19
We can designate our chosen idol which supposedly promises
to solve our lives; however, that doesn’t mean it will deliver.
“Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them
deliver you in the time of your tribulation.”
Judges 10:14
Still, we struggle with its untrue magical thinking.
Somehow, we believe it will fill, love, help, soothe, protect and entertain us.
And that temptation is precisely why the Most High is first mentioned within
the Serenity Prayer.
“For God is not the author of confusion, but of
peace...”
1 Corinthians 14:33
When we are tempted (and we will be), we need to recognize
this is disorderly confusion, not Divine intervention.
By directing our attention to the only Source of our help,
the realization comes in: we cannot do anything, let alone, stay sober, in and
of ourselves.
The Most High God is the Divine, much needed, Weeble
response to our pathetic attempts at substitution; you cannot keep Him down.
And that is especially helpful to our weak selves.
“There hath no
temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13
The acceptance of that Truth opens the door for grace’s
revelation in our healing process.
Serenity Equals Resting in His Grace...
“...the serenity to accept the things
I cannot change...”
“And God is able to
make all grace abound toward you...”
Ephesians 2:5
How much
grace are we given?
All grace.
No, really,
how much grace are we given?
ALL Grace!
This is the
acknowledgement that we are not running this show. This all-important element,
therefore, sets the stage for our necessary rest stop.
“Therefore my heart is glad... my flesh also shall rest in
hope.”
Psalms 16:9
That covers our struggles with addiction,
compulsion, relapse and human imperfection. When our addictive cravings seek to
bring us low, Divine, abundant grace, again, pops up with undeterred Weeble-like
resilience- often, is spite of us.
“...‘My grace is sufficient
for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’...”
2 Corinthians 12:9
So, the
challenge is to accept, not resist, that Truth: grace is designed to help us
when we need it the most and deserve it the least.
“Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to
help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16
There is
nothing within Hebrews which places conditions upon us getting ourselves
cleaned up beforehand. Come as you are, whatever condition that may be.
And, by our
imperfect faith/confidence in that reality, we, therefore, become emboldened,
readying ourselves for the next tenant of the Serenity Prayer.
Courage:
“... courage to change the things I
can...”
Doing a scripture
search concerning this prayer component, it’s not too long before I ran into
Joshua. He’s impossible to avoid in this courage context.
“Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest
observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee:
turn not from it to the right
hand or to the left, that thou
mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.”
Joshua 1:7
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage;
be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou
goest.”
Joshua 1:9
“And the LORD said
unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war
with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of
Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land.”
Joshua 8:1
Get the
point yet?
Indeed, in Joshua
1:5-9, the Matthew Henry Commentary explains...
“Joshua... is charged to meditate
therein day and night (on scripture), that he might understand it... He is to
encourage himself with the promise and presence of God. Let not the sense of
thine own infirmities dishearten thee; God is all-sufficient... When we are in
the way of duty, we have reason to be strong and very bold...”
We need to
regard our recovery as an important form of duty; it’s stewardship of our
significant purpose as much as it is taking care of our physical vessels and
the health represented. It’s no easy or comfortable feat.
The
definition of courage is “the ability to do something that frightens one.”
Fear is the threat to push us down into
collapse.
But again, the Divine Weeble response is to
arise, even while we mortals “do it afraid” in our circumstances.
What is that
most personal “it” to each of us then? It is
something.
“...‘Be strong and of
good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my
God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee...’”
1 Chronicles 28:20
Because we
are not alone in this life, we have the capacity to face it and deal with our
lives. Experiencing this reality teaches us translatable skills and confidence.
Wisdom: Putting It All Together:
Therefore, buoyed
with a Source beyond us, as well as our own unique encounters with grace,
acceptance and courage, we are now further
challenged to put everything into relevant action, via the final attribute of
the prayer.
“... and wisdom to know the
difference.”
This
life-changing gift starts, once again, with our acknowledgment: we don’t know
what we’re doing.
“For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to
do, that I do not practice: but what I hate, that I do.”
The Apostle Paul in Romans 7:15
This
scripture, to me, encapsulates the addictive brain. We don’t understand why we
do self-destructive things. Yet, we are repeatedly pulled to that which
threatens to destroy our lives.
“He that hath
no rule over his own spirit is like
a city that is broken down, and without walls.”
Proverbs 25:28
Therefore,
the Divine Presence of Wisdom becomes a survival tool in our life kit.
Yes, while
the Twelve Steps fully concur we are helpless to face addiction completely on
our own independent terms, it still does not change Divine Wisdom’s vital,
realistic role for each one of us. It acts as protective guardrails for our comprehensive
sobriety.
“Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be
wise in thy latter end.”
Proverbs 19:20
A famous
statement asserts, “Knowledge is not power; the APPLICATION of knowledge is
power.”
Wisdom,
therefore, is that application device.
And, indeed, we are endowed with a
spirit of wisdom, provided we don’t choose to fight it.
We are not
the all-knowing, all-seeing God. Therefore, because of this, we are encouraged
to ask for divine assistance.
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth
to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
James 1:5
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”
Matthew 7:7
However,
this asking thing can often be a gigantic stumbling block for us to practice.
For there
exists within our minds such toxic thoughts as...
God will not help and guide me.
God wants to punish me.
I’m just not good enough to get the
wisdom/help I need.
This,
however, is not Truth; it’s only damaging lies, brought about from our own
flawed backstories, whatever they may be.
Wisdom,
again, within the context of Truth, the Serenity Prayer and the powerfully
resilient Weeble response, dares us to believe, accept and APPLY the other
factors to our lives: the Most High God (who IS NOT us), grace, acceptance and
courage.
Instrumental
to that process is scripture itself.
“In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God.”
John 1:1-2
You cannot
separate Divine Nature from Divine Response.
“The Word is eternal; your
circumstances are timely. Trust the eternal.”
Pastor Tommy Tenney
Scripture
reassures us of His Nature. He desires health, healing, life and blessing for
us.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the
Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11
That Nature
assures us He will lead, guide and help us.
“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the
way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right hand, and whenever turn to the
left.’”
Isaiah 30:21
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go:
I will guide you with My eye.”
Psalm 32:8
“Trust in the Lord
with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
It sounds
like Wisdom- or the APPLICATION of wisdom- to me.
The trick is
this; WE have to apply it.
Sometimes,
“apply” simply means “remember.”
When life
gets hectic, when temptations pulls, when “it” seems unsurmountable, sometimes,
what we first need to do is pause and allow for wisdom’s presence, be it new instruction
or remembrance of an eternal reality. Wisdom, gently and directly calls...
“For God hath not
given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
2 Timothy 1:7
It is the
vertical Weeble motion springing to life, even in the midst of logic,
situations and, often, our most difficult obstacle, ourselves.
You have
felt and acted wobbly; so have I. This does not catch the Most High off guard. He
knew our moments of collapse, relapse and struggle. He knew the doubt, the sin,
the failings and the situations erecting themselves as “impossible.”
He knew.
Thankfully,
however, our wobbliness does not cancel His desire and ability to spring to
action and keep us “in all of our ways” (Psalm 91:11).
This exists
because of His love; this exists because we are His beloved Creation.
So, the next
time you stumble across the Serenity Prayer, stop and think about the unassuming
Weeble.
“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was
made that has been made.”
John 1:3
Dare to
embrace Divine, Loving Victory; bask in its serenity...
“Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall
down.”
Indeed.
Amen.
Copyright © 2018 by Sheryle Cruse
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