The Turnaround

Galatians 1:13-17 – For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. (NIV)

This summer is the summer of painting. All three of the outbuildings on the property need redoing. I was planning on doing them in the same colour, but my brother had other ideas and wanted a total change of colour. So, I agreed, and we selected something different.

As we finished half of one structure, I was amazed at the turnaround which had occurred. The cottage looks completely different. The new colour makes it stand out so much more amidst its surroundings. It is fresh and inviting, like a brand new building.

The apostle Paul experienced a turnaround in his life, too. When Christ touched him, he was changed from the inside out. He went from persecuting the church of God to building her up and encouraging her.

He took hold of the plan that God laid before him — a totally different one, totally opposite to the plan that he had been following — and he ran with it. He didn't go around asking everybody or anybody else what they thought about it. He just listened, trusted, obeyed, and followed the Holy Spirit within him.

Likewise, God is able to do the same thing in every one of us, if we will just let Him have His way with us. As creatures of habit, even as Christians, we sometimes do not want change. Even when it is good for us, we can be guilty of resisting it, never being really sure that it is the best way to proceed. Yet, when God calls us to change, we can be assured that it is always good for us, always the best way to go. Unlike the buildings that I am repainting in a brand new hue, which are changed only from the outside, God paints us from the inside with the beautiful, life-changing colours of His love, wisdom, and goodness. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, those colours, in turn, radiate out from within us so that the whole world may see and experience the love of Christ through us, that they, too, might have the opportunity to embrace their own turnaround in Him.

Perhaps you have not allowed God to change the hue of your life yet, or perhaps you have, but somewhere along the way, you balked or became stalled in allowing the painting to continue. If so, I encourage you to ask yourself: What new colour might God want to be blessing me with today so that I, too, might experience a wonderful new turnaround in my life?

Prayer: Father, as Christians, You call us to a totally new life, a complete turnaround in our behaviour and thinking. Bless us with the faith and trust to be attentive to Your Holy Spirit within us, that we might welcome the new spiritual colours that You desire to cover us with. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.