Spiritual supplies for the new normal

“Are you okay?” I enquired of a young Japanese colleague. He looked quite fearful and anxious.

“I am concerned about the coronavirus—about going out and working during this pandemic,” he nervously replied. This conversation took place in early 2020, and as a result of it, I endeavoured to pray for God's peace and protection upon him and all my other colleagues, family, and friends.

During 2020, I witnessed two main groups of people. The first group had fear and anxiety about the new normal and included some mature Christians. The second group had a strong, unshakable Christ-like faith and were not at all anxious. The key difference between these two groups was that the former group was mainly focused on the pandemic and worried excessively about contracting COVID-19, whereas the latter was mainly focused on God, his promises, and continuing to serve him.

Fear not!

On one Sunday morning last summer, at least one church member was especially fearful of COVID-19 and shared her fears with others just before the worship service. However, it was quite amazing to see what transpired a little later on during the service. The sermon addressed how we as Christians should not fear. In the KJV, the imperative “Fear not” occurs over seventy times.¹ This is a command. For Christians, there are numerous benefits in following the biblical commands of not being fearful, such as:

1. God will not forsake you (1 Chron. 28:20).
2. God will not fail you (Deut. 31:6).
3. God will help you (Isaiah 41:10).
4. God can do marvelous things (Joel 2:21).
5. God will provide for you (Matt. 6:25–34).

For God to fulfil these five promises in our lives, we need to do our part and endeavour to walk in faith rather than in fear. In the latter half of Luke 18:8, Jesus asks his disciples a rhetorical question: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (ESV). Jesus had just recounted the parable of the persistent widow to his disciples “to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1 NIV). As we move closer to Jesus’ second coming, fear and anxiety will increase on Earth. To maintain our faith, we need to pray persistently, fearlessly, and fervently. The hymn “Count Your Blessings” is an excellent reminder to pray and count our blessings in all circumstances:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one.

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one;

Count your blessings, see what God hath done;

Count your blessings, name them one by one:

Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.²

Preparing physically and spiritually

One of the inspirations for this article was an impressive and colourful pictograph and article on the entire back page of The Japan News newspaper, entitled “Are you ready to evacuate?”³ This pictograph showed the contents of an emergency supplies bag and encouraged readers to make one to prepare well for natural disasters. Recommended supplies shown included water, food, clothes, rainwear, and a blanket. Various statistics were listed of the number of people in Japan who had prepared emergency supplies in advance of major natural disasters. Some of the statistics listed were surprisingly low. For example, “only 2.9 people in 10 have an emergency kit prepared in advance . . . 3.8 people in 10 prepared their kit over 3 years ago.” Mulling over these statistics got me thinking on what spiritual supplies a Christian would need in order to live and minister without fear and anxiousness in the new normal.

Preparing spiritual supplies

Preparing a bag of spiritual supplies will help Christians to keep their focus predominantly on God rather than worrying about COVID-19. Items could include the following:

• Bible.
• Notebook or electronic device for keeping a record of Bible studies, answered prayers, and so on.
• Devotional booklet such as Our Daily Bread, which is available in English and Japanese.
• Prayer guide. Some examples include Operation Japan and the classic Prayers That Avail Much.
• Bible study guide. Some church members and friends have found the Max Lucado Life Lessons series helpful.
• Christian songbook for worship. Singing praise songs and hymns will help to focus on God and will build faith rather than fear.
• Postcards and information about Christians imprisoned for their faith. (See the article’s last section.)
• Holy Communion elements of bread and grape juice.

The power of Holy Communion

The regular practice of Holy Communion will release God's power in a Christian's life in various ways including God’s presence and healing. When we partake of Communion, we draw closer to God and will at times feel the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit. In The Power of Communion, Beni Johnson recounts how Elizabeth, a member of her church, had a seizure disorder for 30 years and took daily medication. A friend suggested Elizabeth take Communion. She eventually started taking it every night and continually prayed for supernatural healing. After doing this every day for six months, Elizabeth was supernaturally healed by God and no longer needed daily medication! (pp. 56-58)

Caring and ministering in the new normal

If Christians have a strong, unshakable Christ-like faith in the midst of challenging circumstances, they won’t be totally immobilised by fear and will therefore be fully focused on God and doing his will, which Jesus succinctly summed up in Matthew 22:37–39: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’” (NIV).

Like many churches around the world, Osaka International Church livestreamed online-only worship services at times in 2020. Our live worship services resumed in June 2020 with COVID-19 recommendations in place such as mandatory masks at church, regular handwashing, social distancing, and cancellation of the after-service fellowship time. Despite the new normal, many church members are continuing to fulfil Matthew 22:37–39 as far as possible.

As of October 2020, “according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the total number of unemployed people in the country increased 80,000 to 2.14 million.”⁴ One of Osaka International Church’s most successful ministries in 2020 was its clothing collection for the homeless of Osaka. Every year, church members donate good quality used and new winter clothing for the “Mukuge no Kai” homeless ministry in Osaka. As a result of the increase in the unemployed in Japan over the past year due to the pandemic, church members donated a lot more winter clothing than usual.

Ministering to the global persecuted church

Another excellent and exciting ministry, especially during challenging times, is to write postcards, snail mail letters, and digital letters of encouragement to Christians imprisoned for their Christian faith. Open Doors and CSW UK have annual letter writing projects for writing to persecuted Christians in various countries. Both the senders and the recipients are greatly blessed and encouraged by such letters.

Every day we are faced with a choice to either walk in faith or walk in fear. Regularly using a wide range of spiritual supplies will help us to live with deep Christ-like faith in all circumstances—including the new normal.

Useful Resources for Spiritual Supplies:

• Our Daily Bread devotional booklet. (https://odb.org)
• Operation Japan: Prayer Guide 5th ed. (Publisher: Don Wright, 2019).
• Germain Copeland, Prayers that Avail Much: Scriptural Prayers for Your Daily Breakthrough, 40th Anniversary Revised and Updated Edition (Shippensburg, PA: Harrison House, 2019).
• Beni Johnson with Bill Johnson, The Power of Communion: Accessing Miracles Through the Body & Blood of Jesus (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 2019).
• For writing to the global persecuted church:
• CSW UK resources: https://www.csw.org.uk/connectencourage.htm
• Open Doors: https://www.opendoors.org
• Japan Post Office International mail updates during COVID-19: https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/overview_en.html

1. Nathan Boehm, “Fear Not,” Word Nuggets (blog) June 18, 2012, https://wordnuggets.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/fear-not (accessed May 22, 2020).
2. Johnston Oatman, “Count Your Blessings,” (hymn written in 1897) from Hymnary.org, https://hymnary.org/text/when_upon_lifes_billows_you_are_tempest (accessed December 8, 2020).
3.  “Are you ready to evacuate?,” The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun (September 19, 2020), 16.
4. “Japan’s Unemployment Rate Hits 3-yr High in Oct,” The Siasat Daily, https://www.siasat.com/japans-unemployment-rate-hits-3-yr-high-in-oct-2035649 (December 1, 2020).