Jehovah Safeguards Us for Salvation
“You . . . are being safeguarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last period of time.”—1 PETER 1:4, 5.
WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER?
How did Jehovah draw us to true worship?
How can we allow Jehovah to guide us with his counsel?
How does Jehovah give us encouragement?
1, 2. (a) Why can we be sure that God will help us to be faithful to the end? (b) How well does Jehovah know each of us?
“HE THAT has endured to the end is the one that will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13) Those words of Jesus make it clear that for us to survive the destruction of Satan’s world, we must be faithful to Jehovah to the end. But this does not mean that Jehovah expects us to endure by trusting in our own wisdom or strength. The Bible promises: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but along with the temptation he will also make the way out in order for you to be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) What can we learn from those words?
2 Jehovah makes sure that we are not tempted beyond what we can bear. Jehovah can do this because he knows everything about us, including the problems we have, what kind of person we are, and just how much we can endure. Does God really know us that well? Yes. The Scriptures tell us that Jehovah knows everything about each one of us. He knows our daily routine and habits. He even knows what is in our mind and heart.—Read Psalm 139:1-6.
3, 4. (a) How does the interest that Jehovah showed in David prove that Jehovah pays attention to each one of us? (b) How is Jehovah showing interest in us today?
3 Does Almighty God really have this kind of interest in mere humans? The psalmist David thought about this. He said to Jehovah: “When I see your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have prepared, what is mortal man that you keep him in mind?” (Psalm 8:3, 4) David may have asked this question because of the interest that Jehovah had shown in him. When David, the youngest son of Jesse, was still only a shepherd boy, Jehovah considered him “a man agreeable to his heart” and chose him to become a leader of Israel. (1 Samuel 13:14; 2 Samuel 7:8) The Creator of the universe knew David’s private thoughts and feelings even though David was just a shepherd boy. Imagine how David must have felt when he realized that!
4 The interest that Jehovah is showing in us today is also amazing. He is gathering people “of all the nations” who are “desirable” to him to become his worshippers. (Haggai 2:7) He is also helping those who are serving him to stay faithful. How does Jehovah do this? Before we consider the answer to that question, let us talk about how Jehovah draws people to true worship in the first place.
GOD DRAWS US
5. How does Jehovah draw people to his Son? Give an example.
5 Jesus said: “No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him.” (John 6:44) Those words show that to become a disciple of Christ, we must have God’s help. We need God to draw us to his Son. How does he do that? He uses the preaching work and his holy spirit. For example, when Paul and his missionary companions were in Philippi, they met a woman named Lydia. The Bible tells us that when they began to preach the good news to her, “Jehovah opened her heart wide to pay attention to the things being spoken by Paul.” God used his spirit to help her understand and accept the message. As a result, Lydia and her family got baptized.—Acts 16:13-15.
6. How were all of us drawn by God to true worship?
6 Did this happen only to Lydia? Absolutely not. If you are a dedicated Christian, you were also drawn by God to true worship. Just as our heavenly Father saw something valuable in the heart of Lydia, he saw something good in you. When you began listening to the good news, Jehovah used his holy spirit to help you understand and accept the message. (1 Corinthians 2:11, 12) When you tried to use in your life what you learned from the Bible, he blessed your efforts. When you dedicated yourself to him, his heart was happy. The truth is that Jehovah helped you when you first started to serve him, and he has continued to help you ever since.
7. How do we know that God will help us to stay faithful?
7 Jehovah helped us to start serving him, so we can be sure that he will continue to help us to stay faithful. He knows that just as we did not come into the truth on our own, we will not stay in the truth on our own. The apostle Peter wrote to anointed Christians that they are being “safeguarded by God’s power,” or protected by God’s power, so that they can continue to be faithful to him. (1 Peter 1:4, 5) What Peter said can apply to all Christians. How does Jehovah safeguard us today? We should want to know the answer to this question because we all need God’s help to stay faithful to him.
GOD CAN PREVENT US FROM MAKING A MISTAKE
8. Why could we be in danger of making a serious mistake?
8 The problems of life and our own imperfections could prevent us from seeing things the way Jehovah sees them. We would then be in danger of making a serious mistake without even realizing it. (Read Galatians 6:1.) This is what once happened to David.
9, 10. How did Jehovah prevent David from making a serious mistake? What does Jehovah do for us today?
9 David showed great self-control while he was being hunted by King Saul. Even when David had an opportunity, he did not try to take revenge against Saul. (1 Samuel 24:2-7) But soon after that, David lost his self-control. He needed food and water for him and his men, so he respectfully asked for the help of another Israelite, named Nabal. Nabal insulted David and refused to help him. This made David so angry that he decided to take revenge on Nabal and all the men in Nabal’s house. David did not stop to think that Jehovah would have judged him guilty of killing innocent people. But Abigail, Nabal’s wife, stopped David from making this terrible mistake. David realized that Jehovah had used Abigail to protect him, so he said to her: “Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me! And blessed be your sensibleness, and blessed be you who have restrained me this day from entering into bloodguilt and having my own hand come to my salvation.”—1 Samuel 25:9-13, 21, 22, 32, 33.
10 What lesson can we learn from this account? Jehovah can prevent us from making a serious mistake. Of course, we should not expect that every time we are about to make a serious mistake, Jehovah will send someone to stop us. We also never know exactly how God will act in certain situations or what he will allow to happen to fulfill his purpose. (Ecclesiastes 11:5) But we can be sure that Jehovah always knows our situation and will help us to continue to be faithful to him. He promises us: “I shall make you have insight and instruct you in the way you should go. I will give advice with my eye upon you.” (Psalm 32:8) How does Jehovah give us advice? How can we benefit from it? And why can we be sure that Jehovah is leading his people today? Note how those questions are answered in the book of Revelation.
COUNSEL PROTECTS US
11. How well does Jehovah know what is happening in the congregations of his people?
11 In the vision recorded in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, the King Jesus Christ sees what is happening in the seven congregations of Asia Minor. Christ sees more than just the general situation in these congregations. In this vision, he mentions specific things that were happening and even mentions specific people. He also gives the congregations the commendation or counsel that each of them needs. What does this vision mean for us? The seven congregations represent the anointed Christians after 1914. And even though the counsel that Christ gave was mainly to the anointed, all the congregations of God’s people on earth today can benefit from it. So we can say that Jehovah is using his Son to guide His people today. How do we allow Jehovah to guide us?
12. How can we allow Jehovah to guide us?
12 One way we allow Jehovah to guide us is by doing personal study. Jehovah gives us an abundance of counsel through the publications of the faithful and discreet slave. (Matthew 24:45) But if we want to benefit from this counsel, we must take time to study it and then use what we learn in our life. When we do personal study, we allow Jehovah to protect us from doing something wrong. (Jude 24) Have you ever studied something in our publications and thought, ‘This was written just for me’? You should accept this as correction from Jehovah. Just as a friend might tap us on the shoulder to get our attention, Jehovah can use his spirit to help us realize that there is something in our conduct or personality that we need to improve. When we accept the direction of the holy spirit, we allow Jehovah to guide us. (Read Psalm 139:23, 24.) Let us talk more about how much time and effort we put into our study.
13. Why would it be wise for us to think about how much time and effort we put into our study?
13 If we spend too much time on entertainment, we will not have enough time for personal study. One brother said that it is very easy to let this happen. Why? He explained: “Entertainment is more available now than ever before, and it is less expensive than ever before. It is available on TV, on the computer, and on the phone. We are surrounded by it.” If we are not careful, we could start using more and more of our time on entertainment until there is no time left for deep personal study. (Ephesians 5:15-17) Each of us should ask: ‘How often do I spend time studying the deeper things of God’s Word? Is it only when I have a talk or a meeting part to prepare?’ Perhaps we could better use our personal study time as well as our Family Worship evening to do deeper study and search the Bible for the wisdom of Jehovah, just as we would search for treasure. This wisdom can protect us and help us to stay faithful to the end.—Proverbs 2:1-5.
ENCOURAGEMENT HELPS US TO ENDURE
14. How do the Scriptures show that Jehovah pays attention to our feelings?
14 David suffered many sad and stressful situations in his life. (1 Samuel 30:3-6) The Bible shows that Jehovah knew David’s feelings. (Read Psalm 34:18; 56:8.) God also knows our feelings. It comforts us to remember that God knows when we are “broken at heart” or “crushed in spirit.” This fact comforted David, who sang: “I will be joyful and rejoice in your loving-kindness, in that you have seen my affliction; you have known about the distresses of my soul.” (Psalm 31:7) But Jehovah does more than just notice our distress. He helps us to endure by giving us comfort and encouragement. One way he does this is by means of Christian meetings.
15. What lesson can we learn from Asaph’s experience?
15 Asaph’s experience helps us to understand why it is good for us to be at the meetings. Asaph kept thinking about how the righteous suffered, while the wicked seemed to be successful, and that discouraged him. He began to think that there was no value in serving Jehovah. He described his feelings this way: “My heart was soured and in my kidneys I was sharply pained.” As a result, he almost stopped serving Jehovah. What helped Asaph to correct his thinking? He said: “I proceeded to come into the grand sanctuary of God.” He was able to correct his attitude by associating with others who worshipped Jehovah. Asaph realized that the success of the wicked was only temporary and that Jehovah would make sure that justice was done. (Psalm 73:2, 13-22) We may sometimes feel like Asaph. The injustices that we see in Satan’s world can make us feel stressed and discouraged. But when we meet together with our brothers and sisters, we get the strength and help we need to keep serving Jehovah with joy.
16. How can the example of Hannah help us?
16 But what if a situation in the congregation makes it difficult for you to attend meetings? Perhaps you have had to give up a responsibility in the congregation and feel embarrassed. Or perhaps you have had a disagreement with a brother or a sister. If you are in one of these situations, the example of Hannah may help you. (Read 1 Samuel 1:4-8.) Her husband’s other wife, Peninnah, would often make Hannah extremely upset. This situation became especially hard for Hannah each year when the family went to offer sacrifices to Jehovah at Shiloh. She was so distressed that “she would weep and not eat.” But Hannah did not stop going to the place where she could worship Jehovah God. Jehovah valued her faithfulness and blessed her.—1 Samuel 1:11, 20.
17, 18. (a) In what ways do we receive encouragement at the meetings? (b) How do you feel about the loving care that Jehovah gives you?
17 Christians today should imitate Hannah’s example by regularly being at the meetings. Our meetings give us the encouragement we need. We all have been encouraged by them. (Hebrews 10:24, 25) At the meetings, we feel the love of the brothers and sisters, and that comforts us. For example, something we hear in a talk or comment may touch our heart. A brother or a sister may kindly listen to us or say something that makes us feel better. (Proverbs 15:23; 17:17) And when we join in singing songs to Jehovah, we feel encouraged and cheerful again. We especially need the encouragement that we receive at the meetings when we have thoughts that trouble us. It is at the meetings that Jehovah’s “own consolations” help us to endure and continue to be faithful.—Psalm 94:18, 19.
18 God’s loving care makes us feel as secure as the psalmist Asaph felt when he sang to Jehovah: “You have taken hold of my right hand. With your counsel you will lead me.” (Psalm 73:23, 24) We are so grateful to Jehovah for the protection and help he gives us to endure to the end!
SOME EXPRESSIONS EXPLAINED
Safeguard: Protect. Jehovah safeguards us for salvation by protecting us so that we can endure to the end and not become unfaithful
Draw: Gently attract. Jehovah draws sincere people to true worship by means of the preaching work and his holy spirit
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Jehovah helped you when you first started to serve him, and he has helped you ever since
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You too were drawn by God to true worship
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We are protected if we allow God’s counsel to guide us
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Encouragement helps us to endure