2020 has been an unusual year, as people immersed themselves in the joys of the New Year, the COVID-19 suddenly ruined the joy of people, and a war without smoke began. Many Christians have also been affected, and the church has been affected most of all.
During the outbreak, Christians were unable to worship God together, only using the Internet, which greatly diminished the effectiveness of gathering together and prevented the work of the Holy Spirit. This resulted in difficulty for many Christians as they struggled spiritually. As time has passed, things have not necessarily improved as brothers and sisters are still experiencing the challenges and difficulties and the outlook for the church is still grim.
1. No one cares about the church.
The first problem is that too few people care about the church. When I read the first chapter of Nehemiah, I was very moved. Nehemiah saw the plight of Jerusalem: those who had returned were subjected to great suffering and humiliation in the province of Judah, and the walls of Jerusalem were torn down and the gates were set on fire. Nehemiah’s emotions were deeply affected because of what had been done in Jerusalem, so he sat down and wept for a few days.
Although Nehemiah worked in front of the Persian King Artaxerxes, he cared about the people of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a man who cared about God’s church, and although he was in a foreign country, his heart was mindful of God's people. Today many people are thinking about their own family situation, are planning their own development and future, but few care about the revival of the church and the spiritual life of brothers and sisters.
2.No one puts effort into serving God.
The second difficulty facing God's home is that no one is willing to put forth an effort. The spiritual road and the path of the world are very different.
In Romans, Paul spoke of dedicating himself as a living sacrifice to God. This is a sacred pursuit that too many take for granted. Today many Christians are struggling for their own cause, putting a lot of thought, energy, and time into their work, having no intention of doing God's things, and not having the extra energy to devote to the church. So there are a lot of people who attend church, but many people are not involved in service, they don't know how to serve.
There are also Christians who serve the church, but their service is mostly superficial. It doesn’t come from the heart, so the spirit of the Christians remains weak. Many Christians are not willing to make the effort, are afraid of trouble, afraid of giving up, unwilling to carry their own cross to follow the Lord.
3.No one prays for the church
The third difficulty for the church is that there are not enough people who feel the burden of praying for others. A common phenomenon in the church today is the lack of prayer, and many Christians have no prayer connection with the Lord in their lives. They only seek God's help when they encounter difficulties, and only to solve their own problems. There is a real lack of people in the church who are praying only for the sake of others and for the church of God.
When Nehemiah heard the people of Jerusalem, he not only sat down and wept, but for days he fasted and prayed before God. Many people pray for their own business and do not pray for God's churches.
They often pray just in their minds, and not in the Holy Spirit. Sincere prayer is in the Holy Spirit, that is, praying with a burden that comes from God, praying for the church and for God's will to be done.
We must know about the difficulties of the church today, and pray for God's grace to revive and restore the church after the outbreak.
- Translated by Heirs Han
