What Can Be Done About Discouragement?

Discouraging Personal Feelings

"Expectation postponed is making the heart sick, but the thing desired is a tree of life when it does come." (Proverbs 13:12) In the eyes of some of Jehovah's servants, the end of this system of things is not coming soon enough. Christians find the period in which we are living 'critical and hard to deal with,' just as many unbelievers do. -2 Timothy 3:1-5.

In contrast with unbelievers, however, Christians should rejoice to see in these trialsome conditions the "sign of Jesus' presence, which indicates that God's Kingdom will soon bring an end to this wicked system of things. (Matthew 24:3-14) Even when the situation gets worse-as it certainly will during the "great tribulation" -these events are a source of joy to us because they herald God's incoming new world. -Matthew 24:21; 2 Peter 3:13.

Mentally putting off the Kingdom's intervention in present-day affairs could causes a Christian to devote more and more time to material pursuits. If he were to allow such things as secular work and entertainment to take up all his time and energy, it would be hard for him to fulfill his Scriptural responsibilities properly. (Matthew 6:24, 33, 34) Such an attitude promotes frustration and thus discouragement. One traveling overseer commented: "It is unrealistic to attempt to build a poor imitation of the new system in this system of things."

Next time: Two of the Best Remedies

Watchtower, 1999