​For many of us a significant battleground in our spiritual walk is our mind. Part of the renewing of our mind is allowing our thoughts about ourselves to align with what God says we have become because of what Jesus has done for us. 

​This year has been a year of unexpected changes. For some of us COVID-19 has caused hardship and for others the period of enforced isolation was a blessing. Yet, for most of us the pandemic has brought a mixture of good and bad. The circumstances of life, particularly difficult ones tend to leave a permanent mark on us. They change us.

John 4:7-43

Almost twenty years ago I had a conversation with a young lady that has remained burnt in my memory for all the wrong reasons.

I had been talking about a rattle or knocking noise that had developed in my car. It was a concern and I knew I had to get it fixed. I had a job; I had left home and didn’t have a lot to my name so something like this was a concern. When discussing this, the young American lady in question said to me,

‘If I ever hear anything like that coming from a car I was driving, I’d just turn up the radio so I couldn’t hear it anymore.’

I’m sure we would all agree, perhaps this isn’t the best solution to this type of mechanical problem. In fact, it’s not a solution, at best it’s avoiding the problem.