Help When Under Extreme Pressure

15. (a) What pressures have been faced by Christians past and present? (b) Why may those who give encouragement sometimes be in need of receiving it?

¹⁵ All who are devoted to Jehovah and who are loyal to him experience persecution of some sort. (2 Timothy 3:12) However, many Christians have come under pressure that is extremely severe. In modern times, some have been hounded by mobs and thrown into concentration camps, prisons, and labor camps under inhuman conditions. Governments have taken on the role of active persecutors, or they have allowed lawless elements to run wild with impunity.

16. When David was under great pressure, how did he receive help?

¹⁶ When King Saul was pursuing David to kill him, David turned to God as his Helper: “O God, hear my prayer,” he begged. “In the shadow of your wings I take refuge.” (Psalm 54:2, 4; 57:1) Did David receive help? Yes, he did. During that period, Jehovah used Gad the prophet and Abiathar the priest to convey direction to David, and He used Jonathan the son of Saul to strengthen the young man. (1 Samuel 22:1, 5; 23:9-13, 16-18) Jehovah also allowed the Philistines to make a raid on the land, thus diverting Saul from his pursuit.​—1 Samuel 23:27, 28.

17. Under intense pressure, where did Jesus turn for help?

¹⁷ Jesus Christ was himself under intense pressure as the end of his earthly life drew near. He was fully aware of how his conduct could affect the name of his heavenly Father and of what it could mean to the future of all humankind. He prayed earnestly, even “getting into an agony.” God saw that Jesus received the support that he needed during that difficult time.​—Luke 22:41-44.

18. What comfort did God give to early Christians who were severely persecuted?

¹⁸ So vicious was the persecution of Christians after the founding of the first-century congregation that all except the apostles were dispersed from Jerusalem. Men and women were physically dragged from their homes. What comfort did God provide them? The assurance from his Word that they had “a better and an abiding possession,” an unfailing inheritance in the heavens with Christ. (Hebrews 10:34; Ephesians 1:18-20) As they continued to preach, they saw evidence that God’s spirit was with them, and their experiences gave them further reason to rejoice.​—Matthew 5:11, 12; Acts 8:1-40.

19. Though Paul suffered severe persecution, how did he feel about the comfort that God gives?

¹⁹ In time, Saul (Paul), who himself had been a violent persecutor, became an object of persecution because he had become a Christian. On the island of Cyprus, there was a sorcerer who tried to hinder Paul’s ministry by resorting to fraud and distortion. In Galatia, Paul was stoned and left for dead. (Acts 13:8-10; 14:19) In Macedonia he was beaten with rods. (Acts 16:22, 23) After mob violence in Ephesus, he wrote: “We were under extreme pressure beyond our strength, so that we were very uncertain even of our lives. In fact, we felt within ourselves that we had received the sentence of death.” (2 Corinthians 1:8, 9) But in that same letter, Paul wrote those comforting words quoted in paragraph 2 of this article.​—2 Corinthians 1:3, 4.