DEVELOP A POSITIVE OUTLOOK

Encouragement is a strong force for perseverance. (Acts 27:33-36) A positive attitude is needed for encouragement, whereas a negative attitude has just the opposite effect and is discouraging. Do you know people who are very negative and who are critical about nearly everything? Are they happy people? Not all criticism, of course, need be wrong, for valid criticism exists too. But do you not agree that criticism of a negative kind makes such a critical person weary and can result in his becoming very unhappy? Because this is really a matter of outlook, the cure lies in the development of a positive attitude.

Jehovah always looks for the good, even in wrongdoers. Although King Jehoshaphat’s wrongdoing incited God’s indignation against him, Jehovah said to him: “Nevertheless, there are good things that have been found with you.” (2 Chron. 19:3) So why not be like Jehovah in this respect and look for the good in other people? For instance, if you should be disposed to criticize an appointed elder in the Christian congregation, would it not be profitable to consider his many good points​—his love for Jehovah and the congregation, his hard work in preparing meetings and his willingness to help? This will help to remove negative thoughts from your mind. And whenever you are confronted with seemingly negative situations, why not consider the good that will come from your reacting correctly in such situations? We have the sterling example of Jesus, who suffered at the hands of his enemies but “learned obedience from the things he suffered.”​—Heb. 5:8.

LOOKING AHEAD BRINGS A RICH REWARD

As we have seen, there is need for a positive attitude to enable us to weather heavy personal storms in our lives. Besides, we may personally have to face the “great tribulation,” a severe worldwide “storm” that will devastate this entire system of things. (Matt. 24:21, 22; Jer. 25:31, 32) God’s spirit will help us to weather this tempest and be found alive when it is all over and the sun rises over a cleansed earth, one that will be transformed into a global paradise.