JEHOVAH our God is compassionate beyond compare. In all our troubles and difficulties we can have confidence that his view of his erring human children will be tempered by a warm tenderness that moves him to work out ways for alleviating sorrow and bestowing blessings on them. The basis for such confidence is our knowledge of his dealings in the past, as recorded in the Bible.

Whose compassion, do you suppose, was extended to the disobedient people of Israel, giving them warning after warning by a long line of prophets? Even when that people had reached a low ebb, morally and religiously, it was Jehovah who held forth the promise: “I will show compassion upon them, just as a man shows compassion upon his son who is serving him.”​—Mal. 3:17.

Long ago, by his prophet Ezekiel, the compassionate God foretold this great work of finding lost “sheep” and caring for them. He declared: “Here I am, I myself, and I will search for my sheep and care for them.” (Ezek. 34:11) Again, by his prophet Jeremiah, God spoke these words that now have fulfillment: “I myself shall collect together the remnant of my sheep out of all the lands . . . And I will raise up over them shepherds who will actually shepherd them; and they will be afraid no more, neither will they be struck with any terror, and none will be missing.”​—Jer. 23:3, 4.

For well over a half century now there have been indications of the progress of just such a shepherding work among the peoples of all nations. Thereby vast throngs have received the tender care of the compassionate God. They, in turn, have learned to be “tenderly compassionate,” to be “keeping an eye, not in personal interest upon just [their] own matters, but also in personal interest upon those of the others.” (Phil. 2:4; 1 Pet. 3:8) That tender solicitude finds expression in their efforts to bear the message of the Kingdom to the homes of their neighbors, and in their money donations toward the advancement of the same service in every continent.

Little wonder that the service of shepherding by means of the worldwide preaching by Jehovah’s servants continues unhindered by any lack of finances. The blessing of the compassionate God is without doubt on their generous-minded activity. He sees that it is in their hearts to reach out with spiritual help to those in need. He observes how they work cooperatively, using the Watch Tower Society as their instrument, to reach into every corner of the earth. He knows that their gifts and services are not out of compulsion or from some sense of duty, but issue forth from hearts that are touched by the urgent need of those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.

For those who compassionately give of their energies and means for the furtherance of the Kingdom-preaching work, there is rich satisfaction. Not at all a selfish satisfaction, for it is the realization that the grateful recipients of their spiritual help will come to appreciate the deep and tender compassions of our God​—truly a satisfying reward in itself.