Typical JW email message forwarded to me this afternoon :
Do Not Tire Out!
Bro. Sherman Butts
Patterson Educational Center - Bethel
The times we're living in are "critical - hard to deal with." Anxiety, depression, anguish, exhaustion, tired out and tired of fighting. All of us have or will feel this way, at some point.
But the theme for this talk is found at Gal. 6:9 - "So let us not give up in doing what is fine, for in due season we shall reap if we do NOT tire out."
So it's telling us, don't get so tired that you stop doing what's fine, that you discontinue spiritual things - service, meetings, eating at Jehovah's table. If we keep doing what is fine, we will benefit.
1 Pet. 5:8 - "Keep your senses, be watchful. Your adversary, the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion seeking to devour someone." Keep your senses, be watchful, don't tire out.
'Seeks to devour someone' carries the thought that Satan wants to pulverize us, so he can drink us down. He's a terrorist, a monster.
Knowing that his time is running out, he's increasing the pressure.
Sometimes its blatant, frontal persecution. Other times it's more subtle. Satan knows that we go thru emotional ups & downs, so he waits ... and waits ... and waits, until we're at our lowest point & then he pounces on us, hoping to destroy us spiritually.
Walking the spiritual life is the very best way of life, but it's not the easiest. There are holes on the path to life. We will stumble, we will fall, we will err. But it's about how we respond.
The Devil hopes we'll fall into a hole so deep, that we'll hit such an emotional low that we'll get complacent & then he comes down to pounce on us, pulverize us.
We feel compressed, repressed, depressed, stepped over, stepped on, etc. How do we not tire out? James 1:2 - "Consider it all joy, my brothers , when you meet with various trials."
"Various" in Greek; piokilos ; many tints, many tinted, or many colors.
So Satan has an assortment or array of colors to make us worn out. Ask yourself, what is he using against you? Is it the black of death? The gray of depression? The green of envy? The red of rage?
1 Pet. 4:10 - "In proportion as each one has r eceived a gift, use it in ministering to one another as fine stewards of God's undeserved kindness expressed in various ways."
Jehovah God has an undeserved kindness to match every trial from Satan.
There's no problem, circumstance, situation, or pressure that can come up, that Jehovah can't match! Consider examples.
1) Resentment - Psalm 6: 6, 8, 9 - "I have grown weary with my sighing, all night long make my couch swim; with my tears make my divan overflow. Get away from me, practicers of what is hurtful. Jehovah will hear my weeping and request for favor ..."
David was saying that someone who knew him, someone close to him had hurt him deeply; he cried himself to sleep. Have you ever been crushed that way?
Vs. 9 tells us he didn't tire out. He was confident Jehovah would hear his request for favor and accept his prayer. will speak thoughtlessly as with the stabs of a sword, which means it's not just superficial but the cut & hurt go deep.
And what happens after we've cried about it and all our tears dry up? Then resentment starts to set in, we get upset. We may see them at the meeting and ignore them. We want them to hurt like we hurt. For some, it even causes them to stop going to the meetings. What should we do?
Col 3:13 - "Continue putting up with one another and forgiving one another freely if anyone has a cause for complaint against another. Even as Jehovah freely forgave you, so do you also."
Granting forgiveness in no way condones the wrong. It just means that you are relinquishing the burden of resentment. You're saying you will no longer carry the resentment that came from their hurtful action.
If you have an 8oz cup full of water, how long can you hold it? 5 min? 1 hr? A whole day? If you tried to hold it indefinitely, you would eventually suffer long-term internal damage. Because it's not about how heavy the cup is, it's about how long you hold it.
Same is true with forgiveness. It's not about the wrong tha t was done to you, it's about how long you'll hold it. Sometimes you can see the pain in people's faces when they're holding resentment. All they have to do is put it down and let it go. If we want to be theocratic, spiritually productive people, we have to=2 0put it down, and just let it go.
2) Persecution - from the governments, from our families, from the economy, etc.
Example of two young brothers who were beaten and pressured to pray (in school). The young boy refused and told the headmaster, that he could not be a Witness at home, but then be someone else at school. Another brother was tortured and vomited blood for 90 days, but he kept his integrity and prayed that the other brothers being held would
not surrender, but stay loyal.
One sister battled cancer for 17 years but never quit going to meetings. Another young brother faces pressure from young ladies everyday to commit immorality - but he remains clean. Another couple used to be loved by their family and friends when they were in the world, but once they learned the truth - they were shunned.
What persecutions have we endured for the sake of the kingdom? What helps us in all these situations?
Philippians 2: 5, 8 - "Keep this=2 0mental attitude that was also in Christ Jesus. More than that, when he found himself in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient as far as death, yes, death on a torture stake."
Jesus had humility and he was obedient. It takes humility to endure mistreatment; realizing that you can't control or undo what's happening to you. It's like a sailboat in stormy waters - you can't control the winds, but you can adjust your sail.
Heartfelt prayer is also important.
Rom. 8: 31, 37 - "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who will be against us? To the contrary, in all these things we are coming off completely victorious through him that loved us."
Sometimes after a hard rain, you'll see flowers that are completely bent over. Normally, when it's about to rain, you'll see humans and animals leave and take cover. ut flowers can't uproot themselves and run for cover! They have to stay there and take it. The flowers may be bent, but they're not broken. Eventually, they stand up again.
Likewise, when persecution comes, we can't always get away from it, we can't run and take cover. After it passes, we may fe el exhausted, and bent. But as long as we're strongly rooted, Jehovah will help us to stand up again.
3) Feelings of unworthiness - possibly because of some sin we've committed in the past, or something someone said that makes you feel worthless; or maybe as a result of your own thoughts.
The brothers called on one sister in their hall, and they visited with her and the kids. She had an infectious laugh, it made others laugh. But after she sent the kids to the room to play, she told the brothers she just wanted to die. She didn't feel like she was worth the life she had.
Sometimes the thought of jumping off the 10th floor brought a smile to her face.
What do you say to someone like that??
Ps. 34:18 - "Jehovah is near to those that are broken at heart; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves." To add texture to this verse, also read Ps. 147:3 - "He is healing the brokenhearted ones, and is binding up their painful spots."
As a kid, I always thought I was bigger than I really was (You chuckled, cuz I'm kinda small. Do not let the suit fool you!) Anyway, I used to think I was bigger than I actually was until one day I was looking thru some photos and made a joke about the little , skinny kid in the picture - only to find out that it was me!
Lesson?
Sometimes, what you see is not what the picture really says.
The 'picture' says that Jehovah, the Most High Sovereign of the Universe is concerned about yo u. He cares. He wants to patch you up; heal you; bind up your painful spots.
1 John 4:1 - "Do not believe every inspired expression, but test it to see whether they originate with God." So the othe r application could be, when we feel worthless because of what others say or because of our own thoughts - we have to test out those expressions to see if they originate with God - is that what the picture really says?
When testing the wheel on a grinding machine, you tap the wheel and it's supposed to make a loud ringing sound. If it doesn't and it's dull, then you know it's no good and you need to replace, or it could be dangerous. It's called the ring test.
So when we face negative feelings and thoughts â € “ do the ring test. Remember that Jehovah loves us.
Older ones say they can't give what they used to, so they don't have value. But the picture says that Jehovah values their gray hair and appreciates everyone who offers whole- souled service.
Youths are pulled in every direction - parents, friends, teachers, etc. Their heart tells them to do spiritual things, but their emotions may say otherwise. Some don't feel that they have a real place in the congregation. So young ones feel negative at times too. How can we help them?
Ps. 127:3 - "Look! Sons are an inheritance from Jehovah; the fruitage of the belly is a rich reward." An inheritance is something of value, left behind to enhance the life of someone else. That's how Jehovah feels about them. A rich reward!!!
The goal for youth should be, to be an answer for Jehovah to Satan's taunts - not the excuse Satan uses in his rebellion. If you can make decisions that will bring tears to your mother's eyes, and break her heart - if you can live with that, then that's between you and Jehovah. But the goal should be to be 'vessels for an honorable use'.
We feel exhausted, tired, overwhelmed, overheated ...but we can't give up - we've come too far. We're so close to the finish line!
Heb. 12:1 - "Put off every weight and run with endurance." It's a race. So, we're gonna get tired, feel overheated, feel the pains of running. Just expect it.
In one marathon run in NY, a runner who was in the lead stumbled due to exhaustion and lost the l ead . He ended up crawling across the finish line. One who interviewed him expressed lament that he'd lost the lead, and the runner said, "Don't feel sorry for me! I wasn't running the race just to win, my goal was to finish - and I did finish!"
Likewise for us - it's a race, not a beauty contest! We're not worried about how good we look as we're running - our goal is just to finish the race.
When you prep for a race, there are things that you expect and prepare for - cramps, sweat, to be bumped by other runners, etc. But what if you saw someone running a marathon, and then he20suddenly stopped, only 2 miles in. You ask him why he stopped running and he says, "There was something starting to happen on my forehead
... I felt sweat running down, so I stopped. I signed up to run, but I didn't sign up for sweating!" Or he says, "I got bumped by another runner ... I said I would run, but I didn't plan to get bumped." You'd say, that's ABSURD!
So it is with us. We expect to sweat, feel the pain, get bumped, etc. WE DON'T STOP RUNNING. We don't tire out, we keep doing what is fine.
Is .. 40:28-31 - "Jehovah, a God to time indefinite, does not tire out or grow weary. He's giving to the tired one power ... boys will both tire out and grow weary, without fail stumble, but those hoping in Jehovah will regain power. They'll mount up like eagles; walk and not tire out."
That's what Jehovah gives us - that His " piokilos ." When we get tired of flapping our wings, Jehovah says he'll make us soar like eagles!
So what's our resolve? Gal 6:9 - "Keep doing what is fine, for we shall reap if we don't tire out."
Remember Paganini ... the famous violinist who was playing a concert where 3 of his strings broke, and he was down to only one. To the crowds' amazement, he continued to play on only one string!
So it is with us - we do not stop playing until Jehovah says the song is over!
We don't harbor resentment - we forgive.
We maintain the mind of Christ - humility and obedience.
When storms come, we're like flowers - bent but not broken.
Youths - become the Answer for Jehovah, not the excuse.
When we feel worthless, we listen to what the picture really says.
We prep for the pains of the race, and we DO NOT TIRE OUT!
We don't expect it to be easy, we know we will sweat, cramp up, feel weak, but we do NOT Give UP - we rely on Jehovah & we soar like eagles & we make it to the finish line! YES! BE there!!!! Let's ALL make it to the Finish Line!