Do You Long To Serve More Fully?

"I WAS angry with Jehovah," says Laura.  "I prayed and prayed that he would help us fix our financial problems so that I could continue to pioneer-but to no avail. I finally had to get off the pioneer list. I must also admit that I was jealous of those who would continue." 

Consider, too, the case of Michael, a ministerial servant in a congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. He had been reaching out for the office of overseer.  (1 Timothy 3:1)  When his longing went unfulfilled for several years, he became so bitter that he no longer wanted to be considered, for the privilege. "I just couldn't bear the pain of disappointment again," he says. 

 Have you had a similar experience? Have you had to relinquish  a beloved theocratic  privilege?  For instance, have you had to stop serving as a pioneer, a full-time Kingdom proclaimer?  Or do you long for certain congregation responsibilities entrusted to others?   It may even be that you keenly desire to serve at Bethel or as a missionary, but your circumstances do not allow it.

"Expectation postponed is making the heart sick," acknowledges the book of Proverbs. (Proverbs 13:12) This may especially be so when others receive the very privileges that you hope for. Does God's Word provide insight, comfort, and hope for any  who experience such disappointments?  Yes, it does.  In fact, the 84th Psalm expresses the sentiments of a servant of Jehovah who had similar unfulfilled desires regarding Jehovah's service. 

Next time: A Levite's Appreciation

From the Watchtower magazine, 1997