People making it hard for me to change

Dear Pastor,

Thank you for all the good advice you usually give every week. Pastor, I really need you to guide me with a problem that I am facing.

Pastor, I recently decided to give my heart to the Lord and become a Christian. I grew up in church as a little girl but then I drifted. Now as I am getting older I am realizing that the world don’t have anything to offer me. So I just decided to make a change from my lifestyle and give the Lord a chance in my life.{{more}}

The problem is that I used to be really into the world life. I did things that I am really ashamed of now and I know that God can forgive anything, but it is the people in the area where I live that I can’t deal with.

Pastor, every time I am going to church somebody always have some stupid comment to make. Behind my back it is even worse, and the thing that’s really hard is that even people in the church is part of the nonsense.

I cannot change here, maybe I have to leave St. Vincent and go away or something to get a fresh start. I could even move to one of the Grenadines islands and get a new job or something.

I just fed up of all the talk and I know what they saying is not me anymore. I am really serious about changing.

Frustrated

Dear Frustrated,

You know that you are serious; you know that you have changed and most importantly the Lord knows your heart.

People will be people and they will talk. Some of them will run their mouth because they have “diarrhea of the mouth” and can’t help themselves. Others though, may just be shocked and can’t understand the miracle of change that the Lord has worked in your life, so the easiest thing for them to do is to doubt it.

Could you imagine all that was said about the Apostle Paul when he was converted? Scripture gives us more than a hint that many questioned his sincerity, the picture of his past sins and wickedness could not be erased from their mind.

But in time he became the most celebrated and revered Apostle of his time and the New Testament is replete with his writings.

So it will be with you my darling, as you bring forth the fruits of repentance in your every day life the criticisms and doubts will change to marvel and admiration of the work of the Lord in your life.

Hang in there, remember you built your character over a number of years and so it will take time to erase all that drama of your past from the minds of people…but be encouraged that your past is already erased in God’s mind…….be strong woman of God….press on and fulfill your destiny!

But if you decide to move out of St Vincent, consider Union Island, I will keep a church membership form for you (hahaha), be blessed my sister.

Pastor Jackson