They "Saw" the Things Promised

"They did not receive the fulfillment of the promises; but they aw them from a distance." -HEBREWS 11:13.  

JEHOVAH has given us a wonderful gift. It is the ability to imagine things we have not seen.  This ability helps us to look forward to good things in the future and also to plan ahead and avoid problems.  Jehovah knows the future, and he tells us some of the things we can look forward to.  Although we cannot see them, we can imagine them and have faith that they will happen. -2 Corinthians  4:18. 

Of course, sometimes we imagine things that will never happen.  For example, a little girl might imagine that she is riding on a butterfly. Of course, that is not possible. But Samuel's mother, Hannah, imagined things that were possible. She kept thinking about the day when she would take her son to the tabernacle to work with the priests.  This was not just a dream. It was  that she had decided to do. So imagining that day gave Hannah the strength to keep her promise to Jehovah.  (1 Samuel 1:22) And when we imagine what Jehovah has promised to do, we are imagining things that will certainly happen. -2 Peter 1:19-21.

Many of Jehovah;s people in Bible times could imagine what he had promised. Why was it good for them to do this?  Ans why is it good for us to imagine how our life will be when God's promises come true? 

Next time: They "Saw" the Things Promised - THEIR FAITH BECAME STRONGER WHEN THEY IMAGINED THE FUTURE

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015