DAILY TEXT, Today Sunday February 9, 2025, Many are the difficulties of the righteous, but Jehovah frees him from all of them (Ps. 34:19).

Let us examine the scriptures every day 2025

Sunday February 9, 2025

Many are the difficulties of the righteous, but Jehovah delivers him from all of them (Ps. 34:19).

As servants of Jehovah, we know that he loves us and wants the best for us (Rom. 8:35-39). We are also convinced that obeying biblical principles always benefits us (Isa. 48:17, 18). But what if we have to face a problem that we did not expect? For example, a family member may do or say something that disappoints us. We may have health problems that limit our service to Jehovah. We may suffer the devastating consequences of a natural disaster. Or we may be persecuted for our beliefs. When we go through these trials, we may ask ourselves, “Why is this happening to me? Have I done something wrong? Does this mean that Jehovah is not blessing me?” If you have ever felt this way, don't be discouraged. The same thing has happened to many of Jehovah’s loyal servants.​—Ps. 22:1, 2; Hab. 1:2, 3. w23.04 14 paras. 1, 2.

What problems might we have, and what might we ask ourselves?

All of Jehovah's servants have problems. For example, a family member may do or say something that disappoints us. We may have health problems that limit our service to Jehovah. We may suffer the devastating consequences of a natural disaster. Or we may be persecuted for our beliefs. When we go through these trials, we may ask ourselves, “Why is this happening to me? Have I done something wrong? Does this mean that Jehovah is not blessing me?” If you have ever felt this way, don't be discouraged. The same thing has happened to many of Jehovah’s loyal servants (Ps. 22:1, 2; Hab. 1:2, 3).

What does Psalm 34:19 teach us?

(Read Psalm 34:19). Two important ideas are mentioned in this verse: 1) the righteous go through difficulties and 2) Jehovah delivers them from them. One of the things Jehovah does to free us from trials is to help us have a realistic view of life in this system. It is true that Jehovah promises that we will be happy if we serve him, but that does not mean that we will have a problem-free life now. (Isa. 66:14) God wants us to focus on the eternal future that awaits us; that is the life He desires for us (2 Cor. 4:16-18). And, in the meantime, it helps us move forward day by day (Lam. 3:22-24).

What will we analyze in this article?

In this article, we will look at some examples of faithful servants of Jehovah both from biblical times and today. As we will see, unexpected problems may come our way. But if we trust in Jehovah, he will always sustain us (Ps. 55:22). As you examine each of these examples, ask yourself, “What would I have done in a situation like that? How does this example help me to trust Jehovah more? What practical lessons can I learn?”

What trouble did Laban cause Jacob? (See cover drawing).

There were servants of Jehovah in Bible times who faced problems they did not expect. Let's think about Jacob. His father ordered him to marry one of Laban's daughters, a relative who worshiped Jehovah. And he assured him that Jehovah would give him many blessings (Gen. 28:1-4). So Jacob did the right thing: he left Canaan and traveled to the place where Laban lived, who had two daughters, Leah and Rachel. Jacob fell in love with the youngest, Rachel. To marry her, he was willing to work for Laban for seven years (Gen. 29:18). But things didn't go as he expected. Laban deceived him and gave him his eldest daughter, Leah, as a wife. A week later he allowed him to marry Rachel, but on the condition that she work for him for seven more years (Gen. 29:25-27). But that was not all. Laban was also unfair to Jacob in business matters. He took advantage of him for 20 years! (Gen. 31:41, 42).

What other problems did Jacob have?

Jacob had to deal with more problems. He had a large family, but his children did not always get along. In fact, they even sold Joseph into slavery. On the other hand, two of Jacob's sons Simeon and Levi dishonored the family and the name of Jehovah. Furthermore, his beloved wife, Raquel, died giving birth to their second child. And, because of a long period of famine, Jacob had to go live in Egypt when he was very old (Gen. 34:30; 35:16-19; 37:28; 45:9-11, 28).

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