You Can Remain Confident During Uncertain Times

 "Be strong, . . . for I am with you,' declares Jehovah of armies." - HAGGAI 2:4.

DO YOU at times worry about the future? Perhaps you have lost your job and you worry about providing for your family. You may be concerned about your family's safety because of unstable political conditions, persecution, or opposition to the preaching work. Are you facing any of these issues?  If so, you will benefit from considering how Jehovah helped the ancient Israelites when they were confronted with similar problems. 

It took faith on the part of the Jews who had lived in Babylon all their lives to leave behind a comfortable lifestyle and travel to a country that most of them knew very little about. When they arrived, it was not long before they were affected by unstable economic and political conditions as well as opposition. Some therefore found it hard to focus on rebuilding Jehovah's temple. Thus, about 520 B.C.E., Jehovah commissioned two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to rekindle the people's zeal.  (Haggai 1:1; Zechariah 1:1) As we will see, the encouragement given by these prophets proved to be very effective. Nearly 50 years later, however, the returning Jews again reached a low point. Ezra, a skilled copyist of the Law, then came from Babylon to Jerusalem to encourage God's people to give priority to true worship. - EZRA 7:1, 6. 

Next time: The Days of Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra

From the jw.org publications