Personally, I do experience ups and downs in my christian life.
So when I saw some of my friends turned cold or left the church altogether, I understand the inner challenges they faced.
At the spiritual level, we all experience doubts, temptations, trials and testings. I believe even committed servants of God, those who forsake all, wealth, career, family, to serve Christ wholeheartedly, would experience the same difficulties now and then; and probably in greater intensity since the evil one will target them with vigor.
In 1 Tim 1:18, Paul urged Timothy to "fight a good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience..." My friends and I living in Singapore do not have to physically fight off persecutors and murderers. For us, we have to fight off temptations at the mental or intellectual level. We have our doubts about God, about his existence, providence and provision.
Once a long while, God grant us a miracle and 'lead us across a Red Sea'. But like the Israelites on their way out of Eygpt, we soon forget such red-sea-experiences, and wallow in doubts again. We are born human, even though now the Holy Spirit has come upon us.
There is no easy way out as we live life as christians. Paul exhorted us to fight till the end - and fighting requires stamina, strength, endurance and discipline. It is not going to be easy. Just praying to the Holy Spirit to fight for us will not work. We have to take on the task of fighting ourselves.
Persist. Remain faithful.
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