WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM JEHOVAH? -Conclusion

 Jehovah may respond to similar requests in different ways. For example, when King Hezekiah was extremely sick, he begged Jehovah to help him recover.  In response, Jehovah healed him. (1 Kings 20:1-6) On the other hand, when the apostle Paul pleaded with Jehovah to remove his "thorn in the flesh," possibly a physical ailment, Jehovah did not remove the problem. (2 Corinthians 12:7-9) Consider also the example of the apostles James and Peter. They both faced certain death at the hands of King Herod. The congregation prayed for Peter and likely for James too.  However, James was put to death, while Peter was miraculously rescued. (Acts 12:1-11) We may wonder, 'Why did Jehovah save Peter and not James?' The Bible does not say. What we can sure of is that Jehovah's ways are "never unjust." (Deuteronomy 302:4) And we know that both Peter and James had Jehovah's approval.  (Revelation 21:14) At times, we may be faced with an outcome we did expect. But because we trust that Jehovah's answer to our prayers will always be loving and just, we do not question the way he chooses to answer us. - JOB 33:13. 

We try to avoid comparing out situation with that of others. For instance, we may ask Jehovah to help us in a specific way, but our request is not granted. Later we learn that someone else made a similar request, and Jehovah seems to have granted it. A sister named Anna had that experience.  She prayed that her husband, Matthew, might recover from cancer. At the same time, two elderly Christian sister were also battling cancer. Anna prayed intensely for Matthew and for the sisters.  The sisters recovered, but Matthew passed away. At first Anna wondered if the sisters got well because Jehovah intervened. And if so, why did he not answer her prayers that her husband get better?  Of course, we cannot say why the two sisters recovered. What we do know is that Jehovah has a permanent solution for all our suffering, and he longs to resurrect his friends who have died. - JOB 14:15. 

Jehovah will always support us. As our loving Father, Jehovah does not like to see us in pain. (Isaiah 63:9) Still, he does not prevent all our trials, which can be likened to rivers or flames. (Read Isaiah 43:2) However, he does promise to help us "pass through" them. And he will not allow our trials to cause us permanent harm. Jehovah also gives us his powerful holy spirit to help us endure. (Luke11:13; Philippians 4:13) As a result, we can be confident that we will always have exactly what we need in order to endure and to remain faithful to him.

Next time: WHAT DOES JEHOVAH EXPECT FROM US?

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