Change is, as the saying goes, inevitable.

Circumstances change. Seasons come and go. Government leaders step up and stand down. Schools open and close. People in our lives move on. And we ourselves change… we grow, we move, we adapt.

BUT in all this change – some of which can be scary – we can be at peace and be assured of this: that God never changes (Malachi 3:6), and His Word remains forever (1 Peter 1:25). It might be helpful in these ever-changing times to remind ourselves of some of the attributes of God:

• God is eternal. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:17)
• God is omnipresent (everywhere, all the time). Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? ... you are there! (Psalm 139:7-8)
• God is wise. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Rom.11:33)
• God is good. For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100:5)
• God is merciful. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4-5)
• God is holy. There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. (1 Samuel 2:2)
• God is faithful. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:24)
• God is STEADFAST! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

Interestingly, not only is God steadfast, but He calls us to be steadfast too.

So, as we step into this new month, a new season – and for some the start of the new academic year – let’s do it with our focus in the right place and hearts committed to being unwavering in the good works which God has called us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Even though May is almost at an end, making way for June, our monthly character trait—optimistic—continues to be relevant. 

If the Christian faith tells us anything, it’s that even when times are tough, God will make a way. We see this represented in the coming of the Messiah and reflected in other events recorded in the Bible. 

Let’s just take a second and think about all the times in the Bible that God took miserable situations and turned them around. Daniel trapped in the lion’s den. Joseph imprisoned in Egypt. David entrenched in his own sin. In all these situations, God made a way through. 

These are just 3 examples, and this doesn’t even scratch the surface—there are so many more. 

The Bible is a reference for times such as these. If you are feeling hopeless, you aren’t alone. So many Biblical figures also lost hope for a time—look at Elijah, curled up in his cave. 

But how did things turn around for those people? And how can it turn around for us now?

Well, the first step is humility.

One of the main reasons we feel helpless and hopeless is because we rely on our own strength. And you know what, some of us are pretty strong. We can go for weeks motoring through, filling our time with goals, strategies, and educated guesses. However, sooner or later, we run out of steam.

God, on the other hand, never runs out of steam. He is the creator of the world, and creator of endless possibilities. He is all-encompassing, all-knowing, all-powerful, the source of life, Lord of the past and future, as well as the here and now.  

So when our circuits are fried, and our monthly plan is looking like a monthly fail, we need to take the hint, let go of the thread we are hanging by, and trust in the One who can see the whole picture—God. 

When things were unpleasant for people in the Bible, we always see a turn around when they humbled themselves before God. Some of them, not mentioning names *cough*David*cough*, took a bit longer than others, but they got there eventually.

The great thing about true humility is that peace often comes with it. Setting aside our frantic need to control, letting go, trusting the Father—all these things quiet the mind; then, in that place of peace, we can stop and listen for His voice. 

And when we hear His voice, we must be obedient.

When someone tells you the truth, it is wise to listen and then act accordingly.

So many of us live under lies that undermine us—we are not skilled, we are not interesting, or we are not educated enough to make a difference.

God does not lie to us, and He never will. His truth lifts us up to places we wouldn’t think we could ever reach. It tells us how precious we are when we feel devalued, it corrects us when we are wrong, it helps us to be optimistic when times are hard. 

Do you see a pattern?

Relying on our own limited strength, causes us to believe that we are limited in what we can achieve.

However, humbling ourselves before God gives us access to options we didn’t even know we had, through His truth and unfailing wisdom.

Stepping down from our high horse and asking God to lead us, and ACTUALLY listening to His instruction, allows us access to a bigger and better version of ourselves, and the world we live in. HE becomes our source of strength and hope. Like being plugged in, rather than running on batteries.

Just like those figures in the Bible, we can make a positive difference in our various spheres, by being humble, finding peace, hearing God, and obeying His perfect instruction.

Loving is our character trait for this month, and it just so happens that February is known particularly for it's 14th day when people take the opportunity to express how much they love each other. Valentine's Day can be considered tacky and commercialised and we may not agree with everything it represents, but it's arguably a pretty good idea to take some time to focus on love.

Of course, V-Day concentrates on romantic love, but how about we change the rules a little bit?

NEW RULES

1. Valentine's Day is now every day.
2. Once a day you have to let someone know you love them.
3. Recipients of love include: Parents, children, siblings (including the annoying ones), friends, teachers, strangers, the dog (deservedly so), people on the internet, people you don't agree with, people who mock you and hate you (oooo, it's getting serious now).
4. Expressions of love can come in the form of: Washing the dishes for mum, hugging a sibling, liking someones photo, telling a spouse (or anyone for that matter) how much you appreciate them, praying for the world and its residents, being available to help those in need, smiling at a stranger, sacrificing your time for the benefit of another, not snapping at someone when they are being frustrating...

In summary, the new rules make being loving into a way of life, rather than limiting it to one day of the year.

Jesus, our PRIME example says:

Determined is a character trait embedded in our Scriptures. It is not in aimless isolation of God’s purposes. It is not banging our heads against a brick wall to prove how macho we are -- how ridiculous that would be! Nor does it mean being pig headed. Pharaoh was certainly determined but only to the pathetic end of making his name great. His efforts simply led to a few crumbling remains of tombs on a small patch of desert on a planet which itself is a dot in the vast expanse of the universe. How sad to put in so much effort to no end! A fleeting shadow for one moment in eternity. Not so with those who hearts and minds are devoted to the eternal God who created everything.

To them (to us) there is a robust basis and purposeful objective that drives us. We are justified by faith in the Word of God. We have peace with God, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, we glory in our tribulations. We know in Whom we have believed, persuaded that He is able to keep what [we] have committed to Him. We are working towards an eternal weight of Glory. We haven’t yet attained the resurrection from the dead, but we press on forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward. We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the ground knowing that it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand.  How wonderful that we are not alone in our endeavours, with the Holy Spirit empowering us and a great crowd of witnesses cheering us on!