By Chunhe, China

In May 2025, I received a letter from the upper-level leaders about mass arrests in the North City district. All three district leaders had been arrested, along with over thirty others, including church leaders, deacons, and other brothers and sisters. On top of that, we had lost contact with three churches. I had done my duty in the North City district before and was pretty familiar with the situation there, so the leaders asked me to go handle the aftermath. I knew full well that there was no room for carelessness or slacking off when handling the aftermath, so I prayed fervently for God to guide me in doing the work well. After I got there, the brothers and sisters and I cooperated with one accord. In just over two weeks, we moved God’s offerings and books of God’s words to safe custody houses and relocated everyone who was at risk to safe places. I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. A few days later, the leaders sent another letter asking me to stay in the North City district and take charge of the work. I knew that most of the churches in that district were now facing security risks and that every aspect of church work was fraught with difficulties so I had to take on this responsibility. Thus, I actively threw myself into the work. Because so many church leaders and workers in the North City district had been arrested, we needed to elect more than a dozen new ones. I quickly fellowshipped with the new district leaders on the principles for electing leaders and workers, and together we screened for potential candidates, hoping to select them as soon as possible. But some of the brothers and sisters were facing environmental risks, some were constrained by their families, and others were afraid of being arrested. After several days, we still couldn’t find suitable people to take on the work. What was even trickier was that we’d lost contact with some churches and had to find a way to reach them, otherwise certain letters couldn’t be delivered on time. Plus, the gospel supervisors and watering team leaders in some churches had been arrested, and we needed to find people to take over their work. Seeing that the work ahead was full of difficulties, and knowing it would take a great deal of effort to solve them one by one, I felt overwhelmed just thinking about it. I couldn’t help but think about my previous church, where there weren’t so many problems and it wasn’t so worrisome and exhausting. “How wonderful it would be if I could go back to doing my duty there!” I thought. In my heart, I knew the work couldn’t stop, no matter how many difficulties there were, but I already felt crushed in the face of so many challenges. I thought to myself, “It’s not that I’m unwilling to do the work, but this is the reality of the environment. These difficulties can’t be solved overnight. I’ll just do what I can, and what I can’t finish today, I’ll just continue with it tomorrow.” With that thought, I stopped urgently dealing with these problems. Work that could have been done in one day was dragged out to the next. For some issues, I’d even just offer a few perfunctory words in fellowship without actually solving them, which caused the work to progress slowly.

A few days later, the upper-level leaders sent a letter pruning me, “A couple of weeks have gone by, so why hasn’t there been any progress in electing new leaders and workers? Why are you taking your time with such an urgent task?” The letter also dissected my manifestations, saying that the nature of them was giving up my duty. I felt quite wronged and argued inwardly, “It’s not like you don’t know about the actual difficulties here. I’ve paid a price, but there just haven’t been any results. What was I supposed to do? It’s not like I’m being uncooperative. How can you say I’m giving up? I just can’t do this duty anymore. Get someone with work capability to do it.” Just then, I read a passage of God’s words quoted in the leaders’ letter: “Every person, in the course of believing in God, doing their duty, and serving God, often finds themselves in states of negativity and weakness or of wanting to escape, regardless of the kinds of difficulties they’re facing. This is because, while believing in God, people will inevitably encounter many difficulties in daily life and survival, or difficulties with their duty, as well as personal difficulties. These difficulties often disturb and impact people, leading them to become weak, negative, and evasive, to develop misunderstandings about God, and to be unable to feel the Holy Spirit’s work, in special environments and contexts involving things like their own interests, life and death, and so on. In such situations, when people do not understand God’s intentions or lose faith in God, or when they see no hope and they cannot feel the obvious work of God, most will choose to give up the responsibilities they ought to fulfill. Whether it’s temporary or permanent, in My view, them giving up like this is them turning their backs on the work. That is, when people encounter these difficulties and fall into negativity and weakness, into misunderstanding God, and into being disappointed with God, choosing to give up and be evasive instead of facing the difficulties or enduring the pain to stick to their posts, in My eyes, this kind of manifestation and behavior is called turning one’s back on the work” (The Word, Vol. 7. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (37)). God exposes that when people encounter various difficulties in doing their duty, they become negative and weak and want to escape or abandon it. Whether they abandon it temporarily or permanently, as long as they can’t face the difficulties head-on, holding fast to their duty, this kind of manifestation is giving up their duties. I reflected on myself and saw that my manifestations were exactly what God had exposed. I knew full well that because of the mass arrests, the churches were short of more than a dozen leaders and workers who urgently needed to be elected. I should have quickly put new leaders and workers in place so the brothers and sisters could resume a normal church life and the items of work could move forward. This was my responsibility; it was the duty I was supposed to do. But solving these problems required paying a great price, so I became passive and negative. I didn’t want to face the difficulties head on and overcome them; instead, I wanted to escape and abandon my duty. The nature of this behavior was giving up, and it was betraying God. Not long after, I learned that in some churches in the North City district, the lack of leaders and workers meant some brothers and sisters couldn’t read God’s newest words or live a church life, and they were all living in negativity, weakness, timidity, and fear. When I learned this, I felt a deep sense of self-reproach. I hadn’t expected that my failure to promptly elect new leaders and workers would lead to such serious consequences!

At that moment, I thought of God’s words exposing the consequences of people giving up their duties, so I found them to read. Almighty God says: “If the problem of turning one’s back on the work appears in ordinary believers, it has little impact on the church’s work, and only affects the individual. But when it’s someone who’s serving God, no matter what level of leader or worker they are, if they turn their back on the work and give up on it, this has a serious impact on the work of God’s house. Not only does it affect church life, but it also affects the work of spreading the gospel. The church’s work, or the overall work of God’s house, is thus impacted and disturbed because this person became evasive and turned their back on the work. … If leaders and workers do not do real work, not implementing or following up on work, this won’t cause much of an impact for the first few days—the brothers and sisters will be able to eat and drink God’s words normally, and gather and do their duties normally. If it goes on for a long time, however, with the brothers and sisters not receiving work arrangements from the Above or provision, support, and help with their life entry, then their church life and their church’s work will suffer consequences like lack of focus and cohesion, stagnation, and loss of the Holy Spirit’s work. So this is a very serious problem. If such a situation crops up in the course of serving God, then this person who’s serving God, or a leader or worker one level higher than them, should take responsibility. In actuality, this responsibility is something you cannot bear—why, then, do I speak of taking responsibility? Because, when you come before God to give an account, you will not be able to. God entrusted His chosen people and the work of one or more churches to you, but when some special circumstances arose, you stopped working and instead attended to your own private affairs and difficulties, washing your hands of the church’s work. In God’s eyes, this is a serious transgression you committed while serving God; this is something God detests and condemns” (The Word, Vol. 7. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (37)). God exposes that the consequences of giving up one’s duty are very serious; it is a serious transgression. When leaders and workers give up, both church life and church work are severely affected, and church work can even come to a standstill. As a leader, I gave up at a critical moment. By not promptly electing new leaders and workers, I affected the work of the entire district. The CCP is frantically arresting our brothers and sisters and disturbing God’s work, but I did not do my utmost to safeguard the church’s work. Instead, I stood by impassively while it fell into disarray just so my own flesh could suffer less. I was so lacking in humanity! At a critical moment, I was siding with Satan and obstructing the work of the church. If I didn’t repent, I would be loathed and eliminated by God. So, I prayed to God, willing to repent. I didn’t want to live amid these difficulties any longer and asked God to guide me in solving these problems.

After that, I read a passage of God’s words that the leaders had sent me: “What should you do when you encounter something that’s difficult? Fear not—without difficulty, your stature and caliber cannot be demonstrated. Life is full of various difficulties, and people spend their lives facing one difficulty after another. While constantly facing difficulties, if you seek the truth principles and resolve these difficulties, won’t you then gain the ability to resolve difficulties? Won’t your caliber and character improve? Plus, when you have the principles for resolving difficulties and put them into practice, won’t you then have life entry? Through resolving difficulties, you gain the reality of the truth—won’t your life experience gradual growth? So, difficulties are a good thing. The more you find yourself confronted with difficulties, the more your sincerity can be revealed and the more your faith in God is put to the test. Don’t be afraid of difficulties, and don’t be afraid of failure and setbacks” (The Word, Vol. 7. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (37)). From God’s words, I understood that encountering difficulties in one’s duty isn’t a bad thing, but a good thing. Difficulties reveal a person’s true stature, and it’s only in the midst of difficulties that people will fervently pray to and rely on God and seek His intentions. In the process of resolving difficulties, not only does our faith in God increase, but we also come to understand some truth principles, and our lives grow. I used to think that my willingness to risk danger to move God’s offerings and the books of God’s words meant I had some truth reality and stature. But I was revealed when I encountered difficulties in electing new leaders and workers. Amid my difficulties, I didn’t pray to or rely on God, nor did I seek the truth principles to solve the problems. Instead, I tried to escape and shrink back, and even thought of giving up and betraying God. I had no stature at all! The church was indeed facing all kinds of difficulties after the mass arrests, but this was a great opportunity for me to learn to rely on God and grow in life under His guidance. Reading God’s words gave me faith, and I became willing to rely on God to resolve these difficulties, so I prayed to God, willing to cooperate. After that, we reorganized the list of candidates for leaders and workers. We addressed the difficulties and problems of these brothers and sisters by fellowshipping on the truth to help resolve them, and quickly selected some suitable people for church work. Then, almost all of the brothers and sisters were able to receive God’s latest words and live a church life. In this practical cooperation, I truly saw God’s guidance, and my faith increased!

I then wondered, “Why do I think of giving up whenever I encounter difficulties? What’s the root cause of this problem?” As I sought, I read two passages of God’s words: “For many years, the thoughts that people have relied upon for their survival have been corroding their hearts to the point that they have become treacherous, cowardly, and despicable. Not only do they not possess willpower or resolve, but they have also become greedy, arrogant, and willful. They utterly lack the resolve to transcend the self, and even more so, the slightest bit of courage to shake off the constraints of these dark influences. People’s thoughts and lives are so rotten that their perspectives on believing in God are still unbearably hideous, and are even downright offensive to the ear. People are all cowardly, powerless, despicable, and fragile. They do not loathe the forces of darkness, and they do not feel love for the light and the truth; instead, they do their utmost to expel them” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Why Are You Unwilling to Be a Foil?). “False leaders do not do real work, but they know how to act like an official. What is the first thing they do once they become a leader? It is to buy people’s favor. They take the approach of ‘New officials are eager to impress’: First they do a few things to curry favor with people and handle a few things that improve everybody’s day-to-day welfare. They first try to make a good impression on people, to show everyone that they are in tune with the masses, so that everyone praises them and says, ‘This leader acts like a parent toward us!’ Then they officially take over. They feel that they have popular support and that their position has been secured; then they begin to enjoy the benefits of status, as though they were their proper due. Their mottos are, ‘Life is all about eating well and dressing nice,’ ‘Life is short, so enjoy it while you can,’ and ‘Drink today’s wine today, and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.’ They enjoy each day as it comes, they have fun while they can, and they give no thought to the future, much less do they consider what responsibilities a leader should fulfill and what duties they should do. They preach a few words and doctrines and do a few tasks for appearance’s sake as a matter of routine—they do not do any real work. They are not unearthing real problems in the church and completely solving them, so what is the point in them doing such superficial tasks? Is this not deceptive? Can important tasks be entrusted to this kind of false leader? Are they in line with principles and conditions of God’s house for selecting leaders and workers? (No.) These people don’t have any conscience or reason, they are devoid of any sense of responsibility, and yet they still wish to hold some official position, to be a leader, in the church—why are they so shameless? For some people who have a sense of responsibility, if they are of poor caliber, they cannot be leaders—and that’s to say nothing of useless people who have no sense of responsibility at all; they are even less qualified to be leaders” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (8)). As I pondered God’s words, I understood that the root cause of me shrinking back and giving up in the face of difficulties in my duty was my fear of my flesh suffering. I had been influenced by satanic poisons like “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost” and “Life is short, so enjoy it while you can.” I thought that people should live to enjoy fleshly comfort and shouldn’t suffer too much, and that it would just be too miserable to suffer and toil all day. Therefore, I was unwilling to suffer or pay a price in anything I did. For example, when I used to work in a factory, I felt that the work was too tiring and involved too much suffering, so I simply opened my own shop. That way, I could rest whenever I wanted and live a relaxed and stress-free life. I was still like this after I came to believe in God. Whenever there was a difficult task or something that required a lot of thought to solve, I would wait for the brother I cooperated with to start doing it, and I would just follow along behind. This time, the church had been hit by mass arrests, and electing new leaders and workers was a matter of utmost urgency. I should have found a way to elect them as soon as possible so that church work could function normally. But I was unwilling to suffer more or pay a greater price, so I put things off, avoided the difficulties, and gave up, which ended up delaying the work. I saw that living by satanic poisons made me incredibly selfish and despicable. No matter how important or urgent the work of God’s house was, I only thought about not causing myself suffering. I only cared about my own fleshly comfort and showed no consideration for God’s intentions at all. Nor did I consider the work of God’s house or the life entry of my brothers and sisters. I had no conscience or reason at all! I was a leader, but I hadn’t done real work, which resulted in my brothers and sisters being unable to live church life. Wasn’t I a false leader? A useless person? Realizing this, I deeply hated myself. I prayed to God that I would no longer live by these satanic poisons.

Later, I pondered how I should practice when I encountered difficulties again. One day, I read the words of God: “The man used by the Holy Spirit has some practical practice in not turning his back on the work. That is, when facing difficulties or facing problems in church work, he does not look for a way out or leave a way out for himself. Moreover, he does not become negative or weak, much less does he complain. Rather, he actively and positively faces the difficulties, tries every means to pray and seek, and then awaits God’s enlightenment and guidance. These are all concrete manifestations of not turning one’s back on the work. … Regardless of which period it has been, what difficulties he has encountered, and whether the conditions have allowed for the difficulties to be resolved, the man used by the Holy Spirit has never given up or retreated, so he has reaped a great harvest along the way. Precisely because he does not retreat, and he actively and positively cooperates, seeks, and comes before God to pray no matter what situation he encounters, in the course of his active and positive cooperation, God has enlightened him bit by bit, working into him the many truths that should be understood, the principles and methods of doing work, as well as the goal God intends to achieve in doing each aspect of work and the significance of doing each aspect, so that he understands and grasps them bit by bit. A very important reason he has been able to reap this harvest is that, when encountering various difficulties, he has never retreated; rather, like Noah, he has always stuck to his post since accepting God’s commission—no matter what difficulties he encounters, he prays and relies on God, trying every means to resolve them, and has never turned his back on the work” (The Word, Vol. 7. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (37)). The man used by the Holy Spirit never gives up when he encounters difficulties. No matter how great the difficulties in church work, he never complains or becomes negative. He proactively prays and seeks, and tries every possible means to solve the difficulties, doing his best to accomplish everything within his ability. When I compared my attitude with the attitude of the man used by the Holy Spirit toward the work of God’s house, I felt very ashamed, and also very inspired. I had to emulate the man used by the Holy Spirit. When I encountered difficulties, I shouldn’t shrink back or give up, but should rely on God and seek the truth to resolve them.

At the end of September, the CCP launched another round of mass arrests, and many more brothers and sisters throughout the district were arrested. Faced with this real environment, I was in a difficult position again. We hadn’t even finished electing all the replacement leaders and workers after the last round of arrests, and now another round had come upon us. It would be even harder to find suitable candidates for leadership now. I would have to suffer a lot to do the work of the church well. At this point, I realized I was again coveting fleshly comfort, so I quickly prayed to God. I thought about what God had fellowshipped about the man used by the Holy Spirit—how he never shrank back or gave up, no matter how difficult things got, and did his duty with all his might. I also thought about Noah, who persevered in building the ark for 120 years. The difficulties he faced were far greater than those in my duty. Remembering these things, I felt very inspired and gained the resolve to rely on God and do the work. I first wrote a letter to the district leaders to fellowship with them, encouraging them not to live amid the difficulties, and then I screened the church membership for leadership candidates. When I encountered difficulties, I faced them proactively, prayed to and sought from God, and also fellowshipped with brothers and sisters who understood the truth. The difficulties were resolved one by one, and a few days later, we found several suitable people. Through this period of experience, I learned to rely on God in difficulties, and I also gained some understanding of my corrupt disposition of being selfish, despicable, and indulging in fleshly comfort. I also found some correct paths of practice for doing my duty well. These were gains that I couldn’t have obtained in a comfortable environment. Thank God!