Abraham Kaplan, a philosopher, made a distinction between problem and predicament. He said, “A problem is something you can do something about. If you can’t do something about it, then it’s not a problem, it’s a predicament. That means it’s something that must be coped with; something that must be endured.” It can be very frustrating trying to handle a predicament as a problem and vice versa. Paul spoke of a thorn in his flesh, allowed by God to keep him in check. Whatever the thorn was, it would certainly fit into our description of predicament. It was something he could do nothing about. He sought the Lord thrice for it to be removed. On each occasion, God returned a “no” verdict. Rather, He offered him grace to cope. The same predicament became occasion for the power of Christ to be made manifest to and through him.

“The secret to peace and progress is accepting by grace the things we cannot change and the courage to change what is possible.”

It is important to know what one is dealing with – whether a problem or predicament. This brings up the value of serenity prayer. Reinhold Niebuhr is credited for what has become known as the Serenity Prayer. It says, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” The secret to peace and progress is accepting by grace the things we cannot change and the courage to change what is possible.