To JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES words of encouragement please!?

Question

I'm 22 years old, I'm inactive It's so hard for me to get back on track,my husband & I r spiritually weak , we want to serve Jehovah.I was disfellowshiped when I was 17. I re-established then met my husband joe at a get together, I realized he was not spiritual, he was leading a dbl life,I didn't, I just stopped going b cuz I broke Jehovah's laws along with him(again). I would never lead a dbl life I'd rather just not serve. we got married, talked to the elders,disfellowshiped,re established we had not been making meetings for 3 months. we started going again regularly 3 wks ago,but i feel very guilty bcuz when we had just re established we'd go 2 worldly dances,drank alcohol. bcuz I've been disfellowshiped b4, ppl think I was bad influence on him they don't know bout his previous dbl life.I know better but i'd like words from other MATURE JW'S. is this inappropiate(asking this online)? I mean, I can tell who's a witness. ok let me know.

my conciuos is just bothering that's all I'm very happy with my religion

Answer 1

God Loves you, go find the real truth in Jesus and you will not feel the oppressive guilt that is put on you by this works based unchristian religion.....

I was a Witness for 22 years..Being a Christian is a wonderful thing for me now, not a burden.

http://towerwatch.com

When I came to you, I was young and pretty and impressionable, looking for a
relationship with God, my Creator. But through slick words and empty
speeches you convinced me that I was not really a child of God, that my
duty was to the Organization ----- that THEY would tell me what to do and
how to think. Through years of domination and manipulation I began to
accept "the meagre food that was being offered to me, and became willing to
accept it as the true "spiritual" food from the Master, while all the time
feeling the gnawing pains of starvation which wracked at my body. Finally,
I discovered that I had been robbed of my joy, my love, my compassion, and
my mercy, and it was replaced with a legalistic, doctrinal formula which
provided me with fear, guilt, and anxiety to fill my hungry heart --------
and when I said, "I want more than this"...........you slapped me with your
soft little hand, which had now turned into an iron fist of oppression.

Yes, you fooled me all along, and the reason you were so good at your
deception was because you had been fooled too, a long time ago by others who
had taken you captive to their dictatorship, a reign of terror. You
convinced me that the words of men were the words of God because you really
thought it was true. I believed you because you were gentle, soft spoken,
and carried the Bible under your arm.


.....You may not remember me, but I know you very well. I met you a long time
ago when you came to my door with your smiling faces, your neat clothes, and
your soft voices, and a Bible tucked neatly under your arm. You told me
many beautiful stories of a "paradise earth" and a righteous new system
which would be established shortly. You beguiled me.....................I
listened and I let you teach me your form of Christianity.

I loved you. I devoted most of my life to you. I was loyal and obedient,
never realizing that one day I would come to disagree with everything you
had to say. When I first learned of you and the "paradise", little did I
know that I would be trained to believe that in order to get to that
paradise, I would have to walk over the dead bodies of beloved family,
cherished friends, and casual acquaintances, because they didn't want to be
JWs. With your soft, sweet voices, and gentle manner, you convinced me
that everything and everyone who did not agree with you was "evil". I came
to believe that other Churches were bad and of the Devil, and so were their
members. I became convinced that all the governments were wicked, including
my own, and that I was not to support the country in which I lived. I
believed you, I love you,

You told me that you had "freedom", and it was only later that I tried to
escape your brand of "freedom" that I discovered that the iron bars of the
gate had been shut and I was at your mercy because, by this time, you had
already gained control of my mind and my emotions. I cried and begged you
to please let me go, and you said with your firm, roaring voice, "not until
I have stripped you naked," and you did...............oh, yes, you did. You
stripped me of my dignity, my self respect, my honour, and my FAMILY. You
told all my friends and family that I was demonic, evil, an apostate, a
spiritual fornicator, and good for nothing better than total destruction by
your angry God, whom you had tried to pass off as a God of Love. They
believed you, and they still believe you, because their eyes are blinded by
the promise of "paradise" and they cannot see the "hell" that surrounds
them. The ever illusive "paradise" is held out to the gullible like a
carrot in front of the nose of a rabbit and causes them to sacrifice their
family, friends, careers, education, hopes and dreams on the altar of the
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.

Answer 2

OK... it's not exactly inappropriate to ask this question on line...it's just that it's only so much the few Witnesses on line can say to help you.

I've asked a question once on line and some of the brothers responded to me. The reason I ask is because I felt I didn't get the support I needed from the brothers in my congregation.

The fact that you guys are married is a plus. FORGET what the members of the congregation think about you and your influence on your husband. After all it's only imperfect human we're dealing with.

Going to parties and drinking alcohol is not necessarily against Jehovah's standards, but it's a conscious thing, and if done in abundance it is harmful. How about socializing in get together that the congregation has?

In my congregation there's a lot of youths and what the presiding overseer does is try to have a lot of social activities for the young ones so they won't get sucked in worldly desires.

My advise...sit and pray with your husband to Jehovah about your situation. Go to the elders for counseling. There are older couples in the congregation that should be able to help you and your huband. Make an earnest effort to attend meetings regularly. You and your husband's spirituality is totally up to both of you.

The fact that you feel guilty about the things that go against Jehovah's standards shows that you Have a repentant attitude. Don't give up. There are times as Christians we feel that Jehovah has forsaken us, but the scriptures say that when we feel he's really far from us, that's when he's closest.

Oh and one more thing... obey the teaching of Jehovah when he says..."Don't forsake the gatherings of your brothers.."

I hope I've helped and encourage you a bit. May Jehovah's love for you and your husband help you to become spritually strong..

Love you guys
Nads.

Answer 3

You've been through alot for someone 22 years old.
Your past is the past ....can't change it.
Your lot is to pick-up the pieces and do your best with the situation you're in.
Don't dwell on the past, look forward.
It seems what you lack most is determination.
You have made many a good start, your intentions were most likely honorable, but somewhere along the way you lacked determination.
Perhaps you've tried to please too many people.
You have made compromises so others could be happy.
It does tear at the conscience.
Now its YOUR turn.
You do what you want.
Do you really want to be an active JW?
Be determined! No compromise.
Not even small ones.
Be at your meetings .....no excuses.
Do the reading ....no exceptions.
Pray your little heart out!
Be a bit of an extreme Witness for a few months.
Then, once you have some time under your belt as respects doing it all ....you'll feel better.
Then you can balance out.
BE DETERMINED!
Let nothing, but nothing, get in the way.

Answer 4

Is there a mature christian sister that you would feel comfortable talking to? If so, I would say you should talk to her and confide in her what you have just told us. She will be able to help you and encourage you from a personal level. And always trust the brothers. My son-in-law recently tried to commit suicide and had to be put in the mental institution for a week. When he came out, we encouraged him to go to the brothers and talk to them, and he did! He said he is feeling SO much better now, and very glad he talked to the brothers. The brothers encouraged him and told him that they were there for him any time. That's the wonderful thing about Jehovah's organization, Jehovah is always there for us and his people are there too. The Watchtower (7/15/07 page 16-17) told us that if we are truly grieved over sins that we have done, we are truly repentant and have not sinned against the holy spirit. Which means that we can be/ are forgiven for these sins.

Answer 5

You need to rebuild your appreciation for spiritual things, which takes prayer, study and meditation. Of course, our service and meetings are a great source of encouragement.

My sister was recently reinstated after being disfellowshipped for five years. She's 36. She realized that she needed a bible study to help build her up where she needed to be to stay strong when temptations come along.
An older sister is studying with her. Just yesterday she was saying that it's all starting to click, that she's finally getting interested in the deeper things of the bible. This sister takes her out in service and helps her with her presentation. Even though my sister was in the truth for years, she has had to start all over. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

It may be a good idea to talk to the elders and let them know what areas you need help in. They may recommend a study for you both. Sometimes you need to be kicked started and a study will help you do that. That is what our brothers and sisters are there for, to help and encourage each other to stay strong spiritually.

Answer 6

This is really something you and your husband should sit down and talk to the elders in your congregation about. Not only can they give you the right advice, but they can be there to assist you at the same time.

My years of experience in life have taught me a few things, but nothing more important than this: people do what they really want to do.

Think about what you had to do to get back in. that had to take a lot of adjustment and a real effort. Why did you do it? Because you really wanted to.

Being a Witness is hard work. It's almost like leading two lives at the same time. Secular, work, kids, etc. and spiritual, meetings, study, ministry. You have to want to do it. You have to want to grow spiritually. When you finally decide you want to....you will. You'll stop with the parties, and the worldly associates. You'll spend more time involved with study, prayer and, eventually, association with mature people who will encourage you.

Make an appointment to sit down with some of the elders and be willing to pour your heart out to them. Believe it or not, they love you and they want what's best for you.

Answer 7

Instead of posting this here were there are a bunch of people that don't know a thing about JWs, along with apostates that will tell you to stay inactive, you need to seek out MATURE Christian friends in your congregation along with trusted elders and ask them to help you. Above all, pray to Jehovah; He can help you most of all. But you won't receive much encouragement here. Sorry but it's true.

ps- and why did u post this in the marriage & divorce section?

Answer 8

We all stumble many times, if we didn't, we would be perfect.
Remeber Psalms 130:3 "If errors were what you watch, O Jah, O Jehovah, who could stand?"

Jehovah is there to help you if you really want the help, and it sounds like you do. I always appreciate the example of King David. He made A LOT of mistakes, and some very serious ones at that. How did Jehovah deal with him? (That would be an excellent research project for you, I'm sure you would find it encouraging.)

The key is attitude and effort. At times David would pray, "Make me know your own ways; make me walk in your truth and teach me: make me understand,, " (Psalms 25:4,5; Psalms 119:27,34,73) That's how strong his desire was to please Jehovah. There are times when we all need to pray this same way.

It is important to remember to pray to Jehovah for strength before you do something that would bother your conscience, because we don't want to 'turn the undeserved kindness of our God into an excuse for loose conduct,' thinking we can do whatever we want then pray for forgiveness. We have to work hard to do what is right.

It would also be a good idea to approach the service overseer in your congregation and request a Bible study with a mature Christian. No doubt he will recommend they study either 'Worship the Only True God' or 'Draw Close to Jehovah'

Remember the illustrations about the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin? They are found in Luke 15:4-10. The shepherd, had 100 sheep, but lost one. He searched for his lost sheep as if it were the only one he possessed. And the woman had 10 coins and lost one. She felt the loss of her coin as if she had no other coins. In both instances the missing object remained precious in the mind of the owner. You are valuable in Jehovah’s eyes, and the congregation misses you when you are not there.

Take it a day at a time. Sustained effort is needed to create good habits. I appreciated one suggestion that a sister gave at an assembly. In the morning, when she got up, if there was a meeting that night, she would say out loud, "Tonight's a meeting night." . This way, she would be mentally preparing for the meeting all day long. As a result, she was less likely 'forget' and miss the meeting.

Don't give up!

Answer 9

God knows what your situation is and thats all the matters. If you feel bad I think you should talk to a local elder or someone you feel comfortable with. Posting it online may not give you the encouragement and answers you need.

Answer 10

I'm sorry that you're having problems, first of all, and second of all don't let the negative responses here get you down. You'll receive alot of those on this site, especially from apostates. If it makes you feel too uncomfortable to talk to the elders, then try to approach a sister you feel comfortable with and talk to about your situation. You'll probably receive alot more encouragement in person, but my advice is to pray to Jehovah about it. He's the only one that 100% understands what you're going through and He will always be there to help you.

You are in my prayers and please let us Witnesses know how you're getting along so we can continually give our support and encouragement.

Answer 11

No, this is not the best place to help you to reestablish your relationship with Jehovah God and his Son, Jesus Christ.

Here, as the replies show, you will be discouraged and led astray by the "advice" of people who either do not know Jehovah's Witnesses, or have a bias against us, or who are just Noisy Goats.

The elders and mature Christians in your own congregation are your best sources for assistance and advice.