As the snow continued to fall and the temperatures here dropped even lower, we made our usual essential purchases on the way home from dropping the kids off at school. The essential purchases included bread, milk and thermals. This layer of insulation is part of our way of avoiding hypothermia.
Hypothermia is Dangerous.
Hypothermia is a condition in which the core body temperature drops too low for the body to function. It’s dangerous! When you suffer from hypothermia, you don’t just shiver, but you can also suffer from mental confusion. Perhaps other expats out there have suffered from mental confusion regarding their call or their sanity in moving to another country.
‘Did we really hear God?’, ‘Do you think we missed God’s will?’, ‘Should we pack our bags and move home?’ These are all questions that from time to time cross our minds. If you keep asking yourselves these questions though it could be that you are suffering from ‘Spiritual Hypothermia’.
The Dangers of Spiritual Hypothermia
When we first moved to Hungary, we thought it wouldn’t be too difficult to find a church fellowship to join. We were wrong! We had to travel back and forth to church in Vienna or Budapest. While we were hearing the Word of God, we were suffering from the lack of fellowship. Many years ago a preacher said that as Christians, we are like coals in a fire burning brightly however if a single piece of coal is removed from the fire it soon loses its heat.
Many people don’t understand the expat or missionary’s plight. It is common for people to think there will be an English-speaking church where you are going. It isn’t that easy! The language barrier makes the experience stressful instead of life-giving, and it is too easy to convince yourself that it is better to sit at home and listen to a sermon on a DVD or the internet. Passive receiving cannot replace fellowship!
Acts 2:42 (Amplified Bible)
And they steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread [including the Lord’s Supper] and prayers.
Sharing Body Heat
This verse illustrates that teaching is important, prayer is important, but that fellowship is important too! To continue the ‘avoiding hypothermia’ theme, think of it this way … you need to share body heat to stay warm spiritually. In other words, we need to have fellowship with others in the body of Christ if we are going to be able to maintain our spiritual condition.
Don't suffer from spiritual hypothermia. Share body heat. Go to church! Click To Tweet
We have now reached a place of breakthrough and regularly have fellowship with other believers here. The Internet has tools such as ooVoo and skype can be a great interim tool. Meeting face to face via the internet with other Christians can encourage and provide much-needed fellowship even though there are many miles apart.
If you have been cut off from fellowship, if you have been suffering from spiritual hypothermia it is time to include fellowship on your list of essentials.
