faith & forgiveness

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, to die; to plant, to harvest; to kill, to heal; to break down, to build up; to weep, to laugh; to mourn, to dance; to cast away stones, to gather stones; to embrace, to refrain from embracing; to gain, to lose; to keep, to throw away; to tear, to sew; to keep silence, to speak; to love, to hate; war, peace.”
Ecc 3:1-8

Change is constant. Change is the fabric of life. In spite of ourselves, our success, our age, experience, preparation or position, no matter what, the storms of change come. The winds blow and the floods rise. Our lives are constantly stirred up, never settled completely, even when things appear calm. Change is usually outside of our control, against our will, effected by circumstance, influenced by others, never what we fully expect, good or bad.

Change sometimes happens when we least expect it or least want it. Or change does not come soon enough. We may anticipate change and work toward it, but the results and reasons always surprise us, maybe bringing exceeding joy, expectation and hope. Or catching us completely unprepared and devastating us; leaving us weary and heartbroken.

God never changes. He is always faithful. “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments” Deut 7:9

In the midst of change, we must remember “…the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.” Ecc 12:13

Faith: the foundation that we trust will either prepare us for the storm or destroy us. “…whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.” Luke 6:46-49

Forgiveness: the command required in the emotional conflict of change. “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts” Col 3:12-15

In faith and forgiveness, we trust that God has something to teach us, to change in us; we understand who we really are and what God calls us to be. Change encourages growth in our faith and forgiveness. Therefore, understand that change happens for a reason. Trust that God is good and sovereign. And He uses change to accomplish His Will through us.

Through faith, facilitate positive change by initiating forgiveness, build kindness into relationships, treating others the way you want to be treated (Matt 7:12, Luke 6:27-31), make the wise choice (Prov 1:5) and trust God no matter what. (Prov 3:5-6) No matter what the change.