1. According to Matthew 24:9, why should we not be surprised if the world hates us?

JEHOVAH created us to love and to be loved. So when someone hates us, we feel hurt and perhaps even afraid. For example, a sister named Georgina, who lives in Europe, says: “When I was 14, my mother hated me for serving Jehovah. I felt rejected and began doubting that I was a good person.”b

8-9. What helped one sister to stand firm despite severe opposition?

⁸ Georgina, quoted earlier, managed to stand firm despite severe opposition from her mother. Georgina explains: “My mother and I began studying the Bible with the Witnesses. But six months later when I wanted to attend meetings, my mother’s attitude changed drastically. I discovered that she was in contact with apostates, and she used their arguments when she talked to me. She would also insult me, pull my hair, choke me, and throw away my literature. After I turned 15, I got baptized. My mother tried to stop me from serving Jehovah by putting me in a home with other teens, some of whom took drugs and committed crimes. Opposition is especially hard to deal with when it comes from someone who should love you and care for you.”

⁹ How did Georgina cope? She says: “The day my mother turned against me, I had just finished reading the entire Bible. I was now fully convinced that I had found the truth, and I felt very close to Jehovah. I often prayed to him, and he heard me. When I was living in that home, a sister invited me to her house, and we studied the Bible together. All the while, I was strengthened by the brothers and sisters at the Kingdom Hall. They made me part of their families. I saw firsthand that Jehovah is stronger than our opposers, no matter who they are.”