Keep Worshiping Jehovah When Under Ban

"We cannot stop speaking about the things we have seen and heard."- ACTS 4:19, 20.  

IN 2018, more than 223,000 publishers of the good news lived in lands where our spiritual activities were banned or severely restricted.  This is not surprising.  As we learned in the preceding article, true Christians expect to be persecuted.  (2 Timothy 3:12)  No matter where we live, secular authorities may suddenly and unexpectedly ban us from worshipping our loving loving God, Jehovah. 

If the government where you live decides to ban the worship of Jehovah, you may ask yourself such questions as these:  'Does persecution mean that we have God's favor?  Will a ban end our worship of Jehovah? Should I move to a land where I can worship God freely?  In this article we will discuss those questions. We will also consider how we can continue to worship Jehovah when our work is under ban and what traps we must avoid. 

DOES PERSECUTION MEAN THAT WE HAVE LOST GOD FAVOR?

If a government bans our worship, we might wrongly conclude that we do not have God's blessing.  But remember, persecution does not mean that Jehovah is unhappy with us.  Take, for example, the apostle Paul. He certainly has God's approval. He had the privilege of writing 14 letters of the Christian Greek Scriptures, and he was an apostle to the nations.  Yet, he faced intense persecution.  (Read 2 Corinthians 11:23-27.) We learn from the apostle Paul's experience that Jehovah allows his faithful servants to be persecuted. 

Jesus explained why we should expect opposition. He said that we would be hated because we are no part of the world. (John 15:18, 19)  Persecution is not a sign that we lack Jehovah's blessing.  Instead, it indicates that wee are doing what is right.

Next time: Keep Worshipping Jehovah When Under Ban - WILL A BAN END OUR WORSHIP OF JEHOVAH?

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