Thursday; May 13

How is the Lord’s church going to come out of the pandemic? I have been pondering this question for the last year. A year ago I was a lot more pessimistic than I am today. I feared that the lockdowns, illnesses and economic downturns were going to overwhelm us. While there have been some issues, as we stand on the brink of what we hope is a return to normalcy, I am a bit more optimistic; but still have to consider reality. Yes, we have been spared many of the issues I feared during my darkest times (maybe a better way of putting it is that we have been “blessed”); but we still have some catching up to do. So, how will the church respond to the impact of the crisis?
As I thought about this challenge, my mind was taken back to a great man of God named Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a Jew who took on the task of helping the city of Jerusalem become inhabitable after years of desolation. He invested his skill and his emotion in an effort to restore the walls of the city – yet, there was something more that helped them accomplish the task. When describing the progress made in the rebuilding process Nehemiah observed, “So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.” (Nehemiah 4:6). In essence, it wasn’t just circumstances or even leadership that made the difference, it was good, old-fashioned elbow grease!
I believe in the Lord’s power to turn anything into a positive, but how do we see our role? The question is not, “Is He going to use us to restore the influence of His church in the post-pandemic world?”; the issue is “How will He use us to restore His church in the post-pandemic world?”. Let’s join together to make a difference in our world by having a desire to do the work of the Lord. Who knows, maybe the next great restoration of Christianity will begin here and now!
Think About It!

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