WHERE CAN YOU FIND COMFORT? -Comfort in Times of Trouble

Trouble comes in many forms.  We certainly cannot cover every kind of hardship here, but let us take a closer look at the four examples that we have already  mentioned. Notice how people facing many different problems have found genuine comfort from God.

 WHEN FACING UNEMPLOYMENT

"My wife and I lost our jobs at the same time," recalls Seth. "For two years we had to survive on family handouts and a few odd jobs. As a result, my wife, Priscilla, became depressed, and I felt worthless.

"How did we cope? Priscilla constantly reminded herself of Jesus' words at Matthew 6:34.  He said that we should not become anxious about tomorrow, since each day has its own anxieties. And her heartfelt prayer gave her the strength to keep going,  In my case,  Psalm 55:22 comforted me. Like the psalmist, I threw my burden on Jehovah, and I found that he did sustain me. Although I now have a job, we keep our lifestyle simple in line with Jesus' advice at Matthew 6:20-22. Above all we have drawn closer to God and closer to each other."

"I was frightened about the future when our small family business went bankrupt," confesses Jonathan.  "Because of any economic crisis, 20 years of hard work came to nothing.  My wife and I started arguing about money. We couldn't even bu with a credit card, for fear it would not be honored.

"But God's Word and his spirit helped us to make good decisions. I learned to accept any sort of work, and we down on all unnecessary expenses. As Jehovah's Witnesses, we also got support from fellow believers. They boistered our self-esteem and lent us a helping hand when times were really tough.

Next time: HOW CAN YOU FIND COMFORT? - WHEN A MARRIAGE BREAKS UP

From the j.w.org publications