to themselves as ‘slaves of Jesus Christ.’—Jas. 1:1; Jude 1:1.

Truly the first century of the Christian era saw some of the great giants of true faith in action. In Jehovah’s well-developed program he saw fit for his beloved Son to be surrounded by the right kind of zealous associates and shielded with a rich family circle of men and women who were, above all, servants of the Most High God Jehovah.

Knowing Job’s Happiness for Endurance

AMONG the faithful men of old who set a good example for Christians today is Job. As James, disciple and half brother of Jesus, observed: “Look! we pronounce happy those who have endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome Jehovah gave, that Jehovah is very tender in affection and compassionate.”—Jas. 5:11.a

Job endured much, as we all well know. And for his endurance he was rewarded. His health and his wife were restored to him. He had other ten children, seven sons and three beautiful daughters, and twice as much materially as before. Truly Jehovah did show himself tender in affection and compassionate toward Job!

All this prophetically foretold, among other things, that the spiritual remnant of Christ’s body would be called upon to suffer much; would be restored to spiritual health, happiness and prosperity, and would be given “children,” the great crowd of “other sheep” now flowing to Jehovah’s holy mountain, there to worship the one true God Jehovah together with the Joblike remnant.—Isa. 2:2-4; John 10:16.

Both the Joblike remnant and other sheep “children” can now know the happiness of Job by manifesting endurance. Whether belonging to the one group or the other, by reason of our dedication to do Jehovah’s will our endurance is under test. This is particularly true as regards our Christian ministry. When brought face to face with severe persecution or with bleak discouragement, because of meager results in our ministry, let us think hard before letting those circumstances influence us to conclude that God is unjust or unloving. Rather, at such times let us contemplate the marvelous creative works of Jehovah, as he invited Job to do, and reassure ourselves that He indeed loves us and knows what is best for us. Nor may we let ourselves be influenced by those close to us but who are not spiritually-minded. Such misguided acquaintances with misdirected persuasiveness can at times prove to be a searching test of our integrity, even as Job’s wife and his three supposed comforters tested his integrity.

By faithfully enduring we will come to know the happiness of Job. We will find Jehovah God very tender in affection and compassionate toward us now, even as he showed himself to be to the Joblike remnant in their testing during World War I. And he will show himself to be the same toward us in the future, preserving us through Armageddon and on into his new world of righteousness.

Jehovah God is wise, just and loving; what he permits is for our best. So let us pursue the integrity-keeping course of endurance like Job and thereby know his happiness for enduring.