00:00:05 My daughter will be giving her first talk
00:00:07 in the Theocratic Ministry School tonight.
00:00:11 As a Christian father, I feel happy,
00:00:14 but I don’t know if I deserve to feel this way.
00:00:19 I ran into some hard times spiritually in the past.
00:00:23 I received the help of the elders.
00:00:25 They encouraged me, telling me that I am precious
00:00:29 in Jehovah’s eyes and that I occupy
00:00:32 an important place among Jehovah’s people.
00:00:35 But, still, I am plagued
00:00:38 by feelings of guilt and worthlessness.
00:00:42 I wish I could just let go
00:00:44 of such feelings and be a strong father and husband for my family,
00:00:49 but these discouraging thoughts continue
00:00:53 to drag me down.
00:01:10 My mistakes were well in the past.
00:01:14 I accepted the discipline and applied the counsel that was provided.
00:01:20 And I have never fallen into the same course of wrongdoing since then,
00:01:26 but my demanding heart continues to condemn me.
00:01:33 I love Jehovah very much, and I am grateful for his mercy,
00:01:38 but I just don’t feel that I am precious in his eyes anymore.
00:01:53 The elders continued to show sincere interest in me.
00:01:57 Their efforts really held me together
00:01:59 during those difficult times.
00:02:13 They encouraged me to always remember
00:02:15 that the way Jehovah views us
00:02:18 is much more important than the way we view ourselves.
00:02:23 They used an illustration to convince me of this point.
00:02:29 A boy used to train hard for a marathon at school.
00:02:33 He wanted to make his father proud.
00:02:40 But at the actual race, he fell midway through.
00:02:46 He thought his father was no longer proud of him.
00:02:50 But the father told his son:
00:02:52 “You fell once, but you stood back up and finished the race.
00:02:58 “I know you trained hard, and I see your potential.
00:03:01 I am confident that you will succeed.”
00:03:05 They told me that Jehovah sees us
00:03:08 the way this father sees his son.
00:03:12 Even if I stumble and fall,
00:03:14 He still sees me as His precious son.
00:03:18 The elders also read to me
00:03:21 1 John 3:19, 20:
00:03:26 “By this we will know that we originate with the truth,
00:03:29 “and we will assure our hearts before him
00:03:33 “regarding whatever our hearts may condemn us in,
00:03:36 because God is greater than our hearts and knows all things.”
00:03:41 They pointed out that the verb here
00:03:43 ‘to assure’ can also mean ‘to persuade.’
00:03:48 I was encouraged that by studying and meditating on the Scriptures
00:03:53 that I too could persuade my stubborn heart before God.
00:03:58 That night
00:04:01 I was once again overwhelmed by self-doubt.
00:04:05 Reflecting on the account of King David
00:04:08 helped me to understand how Jehovah really sees me.
00:04:13 As our Creator, he is well-aware of our weaknesses
00:04:17 as well as our motives and our intentions.
00:04:22 Meditating on these things helped me to regain my self-respect.
00:04:28 I also reflected on the example
00:04:30 of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles chapter 19.
00:04:36 The prophet Jehu reproved Jehoshaphat
00:04:38 for allying himself with the wicked Ahab.
00:04:43 But Jehu also
00:04:45 reminded him that Jehovah saw good things in him.
00:04:51 Through Jehu’s words and the writings in the scrolls about Jehovah’s forgiveness,
00:04:56 Jehoshaphat was able to persuade
00:04:59 his self-condemning heart before Jehovah.
00:05:08 Jehovah can see past my mistakes as well.
00:05:15 He remembers my faithful service
00:05:17 and sees my true potential
00:05:19 and my sincere efforts to do his will.
00:05:35 Reading and meditating on the Bible can change
00:05:38 our view of the situation we find ourselves in.
00:05:42 Now I focus on the mercy
00:05:45 Jehovah has shown me, and I don’t allow my anxieties
00:05:48 to rob me of my strength.
00:05:53 I feel like a heavy burden has been lifted off my shoulders.
00:05:58 I thank Jehovah for persuading
00:06:01 my heart to believe that I too
00:06:03 can draw close to him as one of his precious sons.
