Watchtower Study, Are We Willing to Wait for Jehovah to Act ?, Week of October 4-10, 2021, Comments and Practical Answers.

Watchtower Study, Are We Willing to Wait for Jehovah to Act ?, October 4-10, 2021, Comments and Responses.

1, 2. What will we discuss in this article?

We will look at several biblical principles that can help us continue to wait patiently "for the God of our salvation." Then we will look at two situations in which we must be patient and wait for Jehovah to act. And finally, we will analyze the blessings that those who are willing to do so will receive.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

For example, we are going to see biblical principles that can help us do just what the thematic text of the article says to wait patiently for Jehovah.

We will also look at two situations in which we must be patient and wait for Jehovah to act.

And if we succeed, we can be patient, we have many blessings that we will enjoy in the future. 

BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES THAT TEACH US TO BE PATIENTS

3. What principle stands out in Proverbs 13:11?

Although this text talks about wealth, we can also apply it when talking about patience, the advice is: "that we will be wise if we do things gradually or as this text says little by little" than to do them quickly.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

The wisest thing is not to run to get something but rather to be patient and do things little by little.

Perhaps he literally reminds us of a man who bets on money, wins a large amount of money easily, so perhaps he does not value that money enough or does not have the right attitudes to be able to manage that money in the same way in life we ​​could get things very quickly very easy and not giving them the value or not being trained to treat them properly so when we are patients we value more what something costs and that helps us personally. 

4. What principle do we find in Proverbs 4:18?

This proverb says that "the light that shines becomes clearer and clearer, until it is broad daylight," which means that Jehovah progressively teaches us his purposes. But, also, this verse can be applied to the spiritual progress of a Christian, it is a process that takes time, it cannot be accelerated. First we need to study carefully and put into practice what we learn in the bible and the organization, then little by little we adopt the personality of Christ and get to know Jehovah better.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Although this verse is quite characteristic about how Jehovah progressively illuminates, but applied to today's article, we see as if we carefully study and put into practice the advice that we are receiving from the Bible, we can progressively adapt the personality of Christ and we can also get to know Jehovah better.

Just as we cannot accelerate the progress of the sun during the morning but it goes little by little gradually good in a spiritual sense the spiritual progress of a person is progressive it goes gradually.

When we talk about the progress of the Christian, we are talking about getting to know God better or adopting the person of Christ, we are imperfect to try to adopt the perfect personality of Christ, it is evident that for that it takes time and that it is not necessary. can speed up.

At the same time, it shows us that Jehovah is actually a reasonable God who cares about us because, as he says at the end, little by little we are going to adopt the personality of Christ and get to know God better, so when we are progressing He is not going to ask us for more than we have been able to give up to that point and the same applies to our students. 

5. What example did Jesus use to teach us that spiritual growth is progressive?

Jesus used the example of the seed of the kingdom that grows little by little inside good-hearted people. He said that: 'the seeds sprout and the plants grow large, although the sower does not know exactly how. But the land is bearing fruit: first the stem, then the ear, and finally the ripened grain in the ear. In the same way, students of the Bible progress little by little, first they learn about Jehovah and they draw closer to him, and then, they begin to make changes in their lives until they are baptized. Thus Jesus showed that spiritual growth is progressive.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

I use the example of a sower who sows the seed and now it begins to sprout. He commented that first it is the stem, then the ear, the mature grain is a gradual process that not even the sower knows how it reproduces but sees the results.

Interesting because surely the sower does not know what is the process that is carried out from when the seed is planted until it germinates, but if at the end he sees what the progress of this is, we in a similar way, perhaps our students do not see that he has in his heart because this will surely remind us of 1 Corinthians 3: 7 where he says that in the end it is Jehovah who makes us grow.

For this reason, as we are seeing this example, it reminds us of the importance of being patient, although at first we may not see any results in our preaching, we do not have to be discouraged if we do not wait on Jehovah because he is going to make that seed germinate.

In Ephesians 4 we talk about this spiritual progress that students make, they have to change little by little, leaving behind that old personality, now renewing their way of thinking and even putting on the new personality, it is not a process that goes from one day to another. another but requires time little by little effort on the part of the student and thus get closer to Jehovah.

ILLUSTRATION:

Picture series: The Bible student's progress is compared to the gradual growth of a plant. 1. A farmer sows seeds; a man listens to a brother who preaches next to a cart of publications. 2. The seeds sprout; the man studies the Bible, but he still has a Christmas tree in his house. 3. Plants grow; the man greets a brother at a congregation meeting. 4. The seeds bear fruit; the man is baptized.

The person who hears and accepts the message of the Kingdom grows spiritually like a plant: little by little. (See paragraph 5.)

6, 7. What do we learn from the way Jehovah created the earth? 

The Bible describes how Jehovah created the Earth, for example in Job 38: 5,6 it says that he "fixed its dimensions", fitted "its foundations" and "laid its cornerstone." Which indicates that it took him thousands of years to create the Earth, the stars and living beings. Also in Genesis 1:31 it says that: when he stopped to look at everything he had created, he said that "everything was very good." So Jehovah was patient and took enough time to prepare the earth for human beings.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

As we saw before, if we want to have good benefits, we have to go little by little and that is what Jehovah did, according to how he thought how the physical creation was going to do it, he did not do it for an instant but took his time, little by little he made his plans and In fact, the biblical biblical record also says that he stopped meditating and looked at the result of how he was doing, it shows us an example that if we want to have good results we also have to be patient.

And also the paragraph gives us an excellent example of the angels because the Angels were patiently waiting for Jehovah to create all things on earth the universe and Job 38: 7 says that they shouted praise every time they created something, it does not say that they will release cries of despair because they were impatient, so we can also imitate the example of patience of the angels.

And something that will help us to wait patiently and imitate Jehovah is what we see in Genesis chapter 1 verse 10 and 12 there we observe how Jehovah every time he created something separates to reflect and enjoyed it then in a similar way perhaps we have achieved We have achieved certain goals thanks to Jehovah's help and now we can also stop to reflect on how he has helped us and how we have achieved it then that will also help us to endure with patience. 

Genesis 1 | Well, he said on all occasions everything was very good at all times he stopped or reflected he saw the consequences of his creation and said that expression.

8. What will we see now?

We will look at two situations in which we must be willing to wait for Jehovah to act.

SITUATIONS IN WHICH WE SHOULD WAIT FOR JEHOVAH TO ACT

9. In what situation do we have to wait for Jehovah to act?

This is when it seems to us that Jehovah does not answer our prayers immediately or we feel that he is taking longer than we expected.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

When we have the feeling or even it seems to us that Jehovah is not answering us to a prayer.

It is interesting that in the paragraph it refers to two types of prayers or situations that we may be going through in which we pray to Jehovah when we go through problems or when we have to overcome a weakness and we see that Jehovah does not answer us immediately immediately we have to be patient with how much more reason also when we pray for trivial things.

And it is natural for us to feel this way when we have a problem because we want to see the way out quickly or when we are struggling with something because we want to see results also quickly but that is why it is so important that we learn to wait for Jehovah to act. 

10. Why should we be patient when we pray?

Because in Matthew 7: 7,8 Jesus implied that Jehovah might not answer some of our prayers immediately, he said: "keep asking", "keep looking", "keep knocking", by these words he meant that we must pray with insistence and fervor. However, we must be sure that Jehovah will answer our prayers as Jesus added: "Everyone who asks receives, and everyone who seeks finds, and to everyone who knocks it will be opened." Also, in Colossians 4: 2 we are encouraged to cultivate the habit of praying because it tells us "to be persevering in prayer." This will help us to be patient and wait for our heavenly father to answer us.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Although it seems that Jehovah is not answering our prayers, Jehovah does pay a lot of attention to him because he considers it as a test of our faith in him and he is also very interested in seeing if we are determined to live in harmony with what we are asking of him and do his will.

Jesus also gave us to understand this fact when in Matthew chapter 7 he taught us to keep asking to keep looking or to keep playing, that is, Jesus recognized that Jehovah would not always answer us immediately but our insistence would surely be answered. 

We can also be sure that if we follow this advice from Colossians 4: 2 to persevere in prayer, no matter how long that wait may be, in the end it will always have the best results because perhaps not in the way we expect but Jehovah listens to us and answer us for sure.

How beautiful is the expression of Hebrews 11: 6 when Jehovah when he hears our prayers he sees what kind of faith it is, how deep it is, that we are convinced that we are not going to look for another solution we are not going to find another solution on our part but that We are absolutely convinced that he will reward us if we are patient and continue to trust him. 

Something important that the paragraph mentions mentions that we have to be patient and we also have to act according to our prayers because no matter how much we pray to Jehovah and do the opposite of what we ask Jehovah because perhaps that help will not come. in due course, we have to meditate on how we are communicating with Jehovah.

And perhaps we have something that worries us and we comment on it to Jehovah in prayer, we tell him what we need or what we want, but we already think that we have told Jehovah about it and we no longer speak to him about it again, Well, this is not the idea that is mentioned in Colossians 4: 2 that says that we must persevere, we must speak to Jehovah to tell him with confidence that this is what we need or this problem that we have and so that will also be a sample of our faith.

11. How does Hebrews 4:16 help us when it seems that the answer to a prayer is slow in coming?

This text reminds us that Jehovah promises that he will answer us "just in time." For example, perhaps we have prayed for many years to Jehovah to allow us to see how his kingdom ends this system, but when we see that it does not come, we could become discouraged or, worse still, lose faith. The wisest thing in this case to keep waiting for Jehovah to act and pray in faith, because the end will come just at the right time, in "the day and the hour" that he has set, it will be at the best time for everyone.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Well, it helps us because it makes us realize that Jehovah is the one who knows us best Jehovah is the one who knows the right time to answer our prayer, even though we think that time is when we say but not Jehovah who knows best. That is why, as it says in Hebrews, all we have to do is approach him with confidence, pray to him and now patiently wait for Jehovah to answer our prayers when he sees fit.

And that feeling of despair could sometimes deceive us all, the text of habakkuk 2: 3 appears and he says that there he also lost a little even at some point in his life the faith that Jehovah is going to act there to protect his people But Jehovah, as he responded, did not give him a date, he told him you will not be late thanks to the fact that he kept showing patience because he could save his life as well.

Jesus also had to show faith and patience when he taught his disciples to pray for the kingdom to come, it is true some brothers may have been praying a lot for the kingdom of God to come but Jesus knew when he mentioned the words of Matthew 6:10 the later more Later he gave the evidence that there would still be a time left but Jesus from that moment already taught that it was important that we ask for the kingdom of God so that Jesus had that Jehovah would answer at the appropriate time. 

As we see, he will never be late but as it says at the end of the paragraph, he will arrive at the best moment for everything, perhaps speaking about the end we hope that it will come now but as second Peter 3:15 says, Jehovah's patience means salvation so we have to be confident that the moment you decide what will be the best moment.

ILLUSTRATION:

[Pictures on page 11]

Let us continue to pray in faith as we wait for Jehovah to act. (See paragraph 11) *

12. When can it be especially difficult to be patient?

It is when we see injustices or we are victims of them. For example, one of them is the mistreatment that is given to those who are different because of their gender, race, nationality or due to some physical or mental disability. Also, many servants of God have been treated unfairly because of their beliefs in the Bible. Also, in the congregation we may know that someone has committed a serious sin, and, in our view, justice is not served. The important thing in these situations is to remember the words of Jesus, who said: "He who endures to the end will be saved." So we must learn to be patient and trust Jehovah's guidance.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Well, for example, when we are mistreated and we suffer injustices, there it speaks of being different from gender, ethnicity, culture, nationality, physical or mental disability, this can happen to us in our neighborhood at school at work and when this is day to day, it is very difficult.

But even in those circumstances we have to be patient it is not easy but we have to do what Jesus says in Matthew 24 we know that he was talking about some signs that he would identify in the last days and before verse 13 he spoke that he would persecute us they would kill us false Prophets love grows cold day but it already says that the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved, even in those circumstances in which we suffer injustices because we have to be patient.

13. How does Jehovah want serious sins to be handled?

Jehovah wants serious sins addressed: "by following his wisdom and biblical guidelines." So elders strive to get all the facts of the case and this takes time. Then they should carefully pray and counsel the person using the Bible and give correction "to the extent." His goal is to help her get back "from her bad way," and also to protect the congregation and, if necessary, comfort those who are injured. When the elders follow Jehovah's guidance, everyone benefits.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

The first thing is to ask Jehovah to give these elders the wisdom from above to be able to see the situation as Jehovah sees it and also keeping in mind the objective that is to help the person who has sinned to turn from his evil path.

At the same time Jehovah also seeks to protect the congregation so to carry out this procedure it takes time, the elders have to obtain all the facts have all the information and once with the information on the table pray to Jehovah look for the principles involved and therefore patience and time are needed.

We could liken this process to a delicate surgical operation where many lives are at stake, the life of the sinner himself, perhaps the feelings of the brothers who have suffered due to that sin and the elderly as good surgeons need time to program that operation well and have a good result.

In Jeremiah chapter 30 verse 11 it is shown that Jehovah discipline is the due degree and a good example is what happened in the days of Jeremiah, not all received the same punishment, some were destroyed in Jerusalem others were taken into exile, so each case is different and therefore the elders must take their time to analyze the facts well and be able to make a decision in harmony with the will of Jehovah.

14. What biblical example can help us if a brother has done us a lot of harm?

The example of Joseph, he did not allow the injustices and sins that his brothers committed against him to embitter him. Rather, he remained focused on serving Jehovah, by his patience and endurance he was able to see how Jehovah corrected injustices and blessed him. In the same way, we should never allow imperfections or damage that a brother has done to us to separate us from Jehovah, rather, let's get closer to him, leave the matter in his hands, trusting that he will correct the situation, do justice and us will give comfort.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Well, we have the case of José and as we can also see in the Illustration there his own brothers threw him into this hole, it was not outsiders of criminals, it was his own brothers who threw him so it is likely that perhaps something similar could happen to us However, Joseph did not allow that to make him bitter that he stopped serving Jehovah but quite the opposite as we also see in Genesis 39:21 Jehovah blessed him Jehovah was with him despite this problem.

If the same text of Genesis 39:21 is interesting that it says that Jehovah continued with Joseph, it shows a beautiful relationship that Joseph had with Jehovah, a close friendship and it is also interesting that the injustices and sufferings that Joseph had began when he was 17 years old and it lasted almost 13 years, bone a good time of suffering injustice, but what he did was that that friendship strengthened him, he continued focused on serving Jehovah and Jehovah blessed him for his patience and endurance, the same we should do to strengthen our friendship with Jehovah will help us to be patient and endure.

In this case also what José suffered over the years gave him a different perspective than what allowed him to meditate on the trajectory despite the injustices he had suffered but also see the benefits to the result being able to now appreciate being with his family to forgive them and also to know that he had been able to save many lives when there was a great famine in the country.

The psalmist in Psalm 73:28 said that he had made the sovereign Lord Jehovah his refuge, so we can do the same as Joseph did, trust in Jehovah to make him our refuge and let him take care of the injustices that we may suffer even if it's because of something a brother could have done to us. 

ILLUSTRATION:

Series of images: 1. José's brothers drag him and throw him into an empty cistern. 2. Joseph looks up at the sky from inside a prison. 3. José is very happy with his father, Jacob.

What lesson in patience does Joseph's example teach us? (See paragraphs 12-14).

15. What helped a sister to endure an injustice with patience?

What helped him is following the biblical advice. Although, the sister was very hurt that a coworker was saying bad things about her, she did not get angry, but instead thought about the example of Jesus, who did not return to the insults when they were insulting him. So he decided not to give importance to what happened. Later she learned that the companion suffered from a serious health problem and had bad nerves. The sister came to the conclusion that her partner, perhaps, had no bad intentions. This made her feel at peace and she was very glad that she had been patient when she was treated unfairly.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

What we see in the first letter of Peter 2:21 and 23 follows the example of Jesus we know that Jesus suffered many trials suffered many things when he was arrested and blamed for things that he had not done and yet he remained calm, so this Sister meditating on the example of he was able to do the same.

And thinking about the benefits that she obtained, she says that later she understood that this coworker was going through a bad time and that is why she could act that way and then she was happy she says she got peace and felt happy for having been patient that made me remember on occasions that all of us sometimes unfortunately tend to judge the motives and intentions of others and that perhaps many times that we have been patient and we have discovered that the reasons someone had for acting that way was not what we had thought and we are glad We also had that peace and those benefits, how sad it would have been if we had reacted differently, so thinking about the benefits of patience in those circumstances helps us.

And we also have the biblical principle that we find in Philippians 2: 3 and 4 which is the key, it tells us not to be self-centered in conflict or to believe ourselves superior, that is, not to think that we are more important than others but how the four ends up looking for interest as well of the others, and it is what helped this sister not to think about her rights but rather what is happening to this person and how can I collaborate so that the situation is solved in the end humility and being patient was the key.

The easiest thing is that when someone treats us badly or we feel that we are suffering an injustice we focus exclusively on our feelings but Philippians says that we humbly think that others are superior and that is what this sister did, she recognized that she did not know all of them things and that is why he was able to endure this situation we can do the same. 

16. What can comfort us if we are enduring an injustice? (1 Peter 3:12).

This text reminds us “that the eyes and ears of Jehovah, the Judge of the earth, are over the righteous who pray to him,” so if we are enduring an injustice or some difficult problem that we cannot solve, we must be patient and Being willing to wait for Jehovah to act, at the same time, this gives us comfort because we know that this wait will be worth it.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Well, let's see that he is very aware of what is happening to us, we have just read in First Peter 3:12 that his eyes are on the righteous in those who want to do his will and those eyes what they want is to observe our effort also answer our requests for help so that can help us a lot.

And if this injustice causes us pain, we have Psalm 34:18, which is also very nice that those who are heartbroken or discouraged, Jehovah is close to them and saves those who are sunk. 

THOSE WHO WAIT FOR JEHOVAH TO ACT WILL HAVE ENDLESS BLESSINGS

17. What does Jehovah promise us in Isaiah 30:18?

In this text it says that "Jehovah is a God of justice, and he patiently waits to show his favor to those who eagerly await him to act," so he promises to give us many blessings now, and also in the future new world.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

First of all, it reminds us that if we are willing to wait with longing we will make happy during the wait but we also know that Jehovah will reward us for it.

It is somewhat reciprocal, the text says that Jehovah is also patiently waiting to show favor, so we can imagine Jehovah longing to give us all those rewards.

And it also indicates that he is a God of bone justice, he will balance all the suffering that has existed on earth, not only what we see but what has existed, what he has seen and of course he will calm all our feelings at once. And forever, that is what is really doing justice. 

18. What blessings await us?

Wonderful blessings await us in the new world - never again will we have to put up with the problems and worries we face today. As Revelation 21: 4 says "There will be no more injustice or pain." Also, as Psalms and Isaiah say there will be "abundance of grain and peace", so we will no longer have to worry about getting the necessary things, because there will be abundance.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

So many blessings that we will never have to put up with the problems, worries that we may have today and neither injustices nor pain.

As Isaiah 54:13 says we will be surrounded by people who love Jehovah we will not have to keep waiting suffering we may have to wait until we see some promises from Jehovah fulfilled but we will be in the best environment in which we could be, it will be a pleasure to have to wait to see The fulfillment of Jehovah's promises knowing him better every day is worth whatever time we now have to spend waiting.

One of the greatest injustices that human beings suffer is death and really that causes us a lot of pain and as Revelation 21: 4 says in which death will be no more so a beautiful blessing helps us to be patient to wait for that day.

19. What is Jehovah gradually preparing us for?

Jehovah is preparing us for when we live under his rule, so today he is helping us overcome bad habits and develop Christian qualities. So, it is not the time to get discouraged or give up, rather, we must be willing to wait patiently for Jehovah to fulfill all that he has promised us.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

For when we live under his government, then perhaps we have to be patient to see our loved ones again, to be patient to rebuild the earth to know how to organize a little, there are so many things that it will be a wonderful future but this article as we see here is us preparing to live that moment with enthusiasm.

Yes, many times to get citizenship of a country you have to meet certain requirements and governments do not usually provide facilities to obtain these but Jehovah does so Jehovah does want us to be part of his government and he is preparing us from now on to cultivate the qualities necessary to be there such as patience. 

WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?

What biblical principles can help us continue to wait patiently?

For example, the one in Proverbs 13:11 if we remember this text talks about wealth, but if we apply it when talking about patience, the advice is: “that we will be wise if we do things gradually or as this text says a little by little »to do them quickly. Also, the principle that we find in Proverbs 4:18 that says that "the light that shines becomes clearer and clearer, until it is broad daylight," which means that Jehovah progressively teaches us his purposes. In the same way patience is required for the spiritual progress of a Christian. And Jesus emphasized this point by comparing the kingdom message to a little seed that grows little by little inside good-hearted people. These examples teach us the importance of being patient.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

The first of them is found in Proverbs chapter 13 verse 11, which speaks that the one who gathers little by little will see his wealth increased and what we have seen is the important thing to be patient because that way we will also enjoy more of what we get in our service. to Jehovah.

We also analyze the principle of Proverbs 4:18 where it says that spiritual progress is a process that takes time so we must strive to study carefully and put into practice what we learn without stagnating.

And also how Jehovah himself was patient when creating the earth, we have seen in Genesis 1:31 how he stopped and reflected and saw that what he was doing was very good.

In what two situations do we have to be patient?

The two situations are: 1) When it seems to us that Jehovah does not answer our prayers immediately. 2) When we suffer injustices.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

One would be when it seems to us that Jehovah is slow to answer our prayers and we saw in Hebrews 4:16 that Jehovah will not delay but just at the right time will answer us.

We have also seen that perhaps when we suffer injustices it makes us very heavy, but as we have seen in first Peter 3: 2 in which we have clearly seen that Jehovah is the judge of all the earth, his eyes are looking so in due time he will act.

What blessings will those who are willing to wait receive?

The blessings that we will receive in the future, who we are willing to wait, are wonderful and eternal, such as not suffering again injustices, problems, worry, or pain, in addition, we will have the necessary things in abundance, so, We must continue to wait patiently for Jehovah to fulfill all that he has promised us.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Well, paragraph 18 mentioned many of them, it was that we will not put up with the problems and concerns that we face today and also Psalm 72:16 mentioned that we will have plenty of food and all the other texts of Revelation 21: 4 that death will no longer it will exist for which they are wonderful blessings.

I especially like one of Isaiah 30:18 where we are guaranteed that we will be happy but we will be happy then and if we are patient we can also be so today while we endure.