Our past experiences may have made us the way we are, but we don’t have to stay that way.
It’s been more than a month since I’ve written anything here, and boy, has it been a month of complete change for me and my family. We have been feeling God’s prompting that it was time for a change. But with change always comes the agony of choice. It is never easy to make a big change in our lives, but if we know it’s what we need to do, then we will need to work through the fact that it will require sacrifice – and that my friends, is never easy!
So we sold the bit of furniture we had, and the car we had just paid of, and left for a time away in Mexico. In the back of our minds we knew that we had no house, no furniture, no car – in fact, no earthly possessions. But, to tell you the truth, it was the most liberating feeling ever. The blessing in this all is that I have a great online job, so we were able to make that move. After clearing our heads in the beautiful town of Puerto Escondido, we decided to come back to our birth country, South Africa.
So many people asked us why we would want to leave the safety of Australia, and return to a country riddled with crime. Firstly, we realised that we needed to spend more time with our aging parents. We also just missed the amazing culture that will always be in our blood. We absolutely love being back in a place that has the friendliest people in the world and are so excited about what God has for us here.
It has been said that we can create the most magnificent environment, but unless we change the heart, it’s a waste of time. I want to flip that around and say: ” When we allow God to change our hearts, the environment around us doesn’t need to be the most magnificent, or the safest, or the most comfortable. God changing us, allows us to live in any circumstances, with joy and thanksgiving in our hearts.”
To be a Christian, we have to be open to change. The whole basis of Christianity is to accept that we are sinners and that we need help. So many people want change in their circumstances, without realising that it is a change of heart, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that we need. I have visited a great friend of mine in India, Williams Revu, and preached with him there. Some of the Christians in those little villages, live in the most appalling circumstances, yet they are some of the happiest people I have ever met. Why? Because they have allowed Christ into their lives. Where we are now, doesn’t matter that much when we know where we are going.
So many Christians want change in their lives, but aren’t willing to make sacrifices that it requires. It asks of us to let go of everything that is standing in the way of our relationship with Jesus Christ, no matter how tough it is. Because in the end, it doesn’t matter how challenging things are now, when we know that we have an eternal life in the presence of our Saviour, where all pain and suffering will be something of the past .
And when we allow that change to happen in our lives, we need to go out, and be the change in the world around us
Have an amazing day!
Mark Davidson
