Written By Ben Dankaka
Meditation – Mark 7:29
While God can be described as unchangeable, He can also be seen as a God who changes his mind. Our God isn’t rigid. Although, He doesn’t change His image, word or promises, God changes His mind anytime He forgives. The Psalmist says, “The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” Therefore, because our God is compassionate and merciful, He forgives. And forgiveness doesn’t take place until there’s a shift in the mind of the forgiver. But then again, forgiveness is only necessary whenever there’s an offense. In every circumstance, the person who has been offended is likely to get angry. This is why when we offend God; He gets angry, even though He doesn’t get angry all the time because He is slow to anger. But God’s anger doesn’t last forever. He replaces His anger with mercy, the moment we ask for forgiveness.
I have heard people say, “I won’t change my mind.” You hear that often whenever a person refuses to forgive. Such people think that being tough means they should be unchangeable. Possibly because they feel hurt by an offense, they never change their minds or attitude towards their offenders. Or they may think that by sticking to their convictions, they would be respected. So they think that their rigidity will make them powerful or shield them from pain. They refuse to change their minds even when it’s necessary. That kind of attitude is ungodly. In case, you still think that God doesn’t change His mind; recall what transpired between Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman. The woman begged Jesus to drive a demon out of her daughter. Initially, Jesus didn’t want to do it. But when He saw the woman’s faith, He changed His mind. Change your mind concerning that matter!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me for my stubborn heart. Amen.
REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Psalm 145:8; Mark 7:24-30
Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.