By Lisa Harp Hinds

Have you noticed that it seems so many Christians are turning away from God and the church lately? What makes us do that? Why do we separate from the One and the ones who care about us?

First, let’s think of what the church really is. I Corinthians 12: 27-28 tells us that we “are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church…..” Verse 28 goes on to list gifts such as apostles, prophets, teachers, administrators, etc. In other words, each of us has a gift and a place to serve. Plus, we need each other to make it work efficiently and effectively.

THE EARLY CHURCH WAS UNITED

In the second chapter of Acts, we see the early church expanding miraculously. The Holy Spirit is active and is filling the members of the church, and they are remaining steadfast as they continue in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, eating together, and praying. It sounds to me like they continued in one accord (reminds me of the old joke about the Honda). They were united!

Did they ever disagree? Did they ever have negative feelings toward each other? My guess is, yes, they did. They existed in their flesh just like we do. What if you are a sensitive person, and your sister in Christ is not a sensitive person (apparently), and she not only grates on your last nerve, but she thinks she knows it all and tells you what to do? How do you handle that? Do you say, “I’ve had enough!” and walk away from your congregation?

DON’T TURN AWAY! YOUR CHURCH BODY NEEDS YOU

Well, you probably shouldn’t. The rest of the church body needs you! In fact, that very sister that you have to make yourself tolerate needs you as well. I can almost guarantee it. I’ve written an article about this very thing that was published in the Lead Up section of https://baonline.org titled 7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Leave Your Church | EQUIP (baonline.org).

Essentially, you need to be in constant prayer with the Lord. You need to be deep in His Word. You need to search your heart. What’s going on in that heart of yours? Is there some hurt in your heart that you haven’t come to grips with? What do you need to do to obtain healing? Look at Hebrews 10: 24-25: “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Remember Proverbs 4:23:

“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of if spring the issues of life.”

(Borrowed from Tender Hearted Daughter of God blog: do-you-turn-away-from-god-when-you-are-hurting.

NKJV used throughout this blog post.)