How Jehovah Assures Us of His Love

9. What does Satan want us to believe about Jehovah’s view of us, but of what does Jehovah assure us?

⁹ However, an important question arises: Does God love us personally? Some may agree that God loves mankind in general, as John 3:16 says. But they feel, in effect, ‘God could never love me as an individual.’ The fact is that Satan the Devil is eager for us to believe that Jehovah neither loves us nor values us. On the other hand, no matter how unlovable or worthless we may think we are, Jehovah assures us that each of his faithful servants is of value to him.

10, 11. How does Jesus’ illustration of the sparrows show that we have value in Jehovah’s eyes?

¹⁰ For example, consider Jesus’ words recorded at Matthew 10:29-31. Illustrating the worth of his disciples, Jesus said: “Do not two sparrows sell for a coin of small value? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore have no fear: you are worth more than many sparrows.” Consider what those words meant to Jesus’ first-century listeners.

¹¹ In Jesus’ day the sparrow was the cheapest of the birds sold as food. For one coin of small value, a buyer got two sparrows. But Jesus later stated, according to Luke 12:6, 7, that if a person spent two coins, he got, not four sparrows, but five. The extra bird was added in as though it had no value at all. Perhaps such birds were worthless in the eyes of men, but how did the Creator view them? Jesus said: “Not one of them [not even the one added in] goes forgotten before God.” Now we may begin to see Jesus’ point. Since Jehovah places such value on a single sparrow, of how much greater worth is a human! As Jesus said, Jehovah knows every detail about us. Why, the very hairs of our head are numbered!

12. Why can we be sure that Jesus was being realistic when he spoke of the hairs of our head being numbered?

¹² Some might assume that Jesus was exaggerating here. Just think, though, about the resurrection. How intimately Jehovah must know us in order to re-create us! He values us so much that he remembers every detail, including our complex genetic code and all our years of memories and experiences. Numbering our hairs​—of which the average human head grows about 100,000—​would be a simple feat by comparison. How beautifully Jesus’ words assure us that Jehovah cares for us as individuals!

13. How does the case of King Jehoshaphat show that Jehovah looks for the good in us even though we are imperfect?

¹³ The Bible reveals something else that assures us of Jehovah’s love. He looks for and values the good in us. Take, for example, good King Jehoshaphat. When the king committed a foolish act, Jehovah’s prophet told him: “For this there is indignation against you from the person of Jehovah.” What a sobering thought! But Jehovah’s message did not end there. It went on: “Nevertheless, there are good things that have been found with you.” (2 Chronicles 19:1-3) So Jehovah’s righteous anger did not blind him to the “good things” about Jehoshaphat. Is it not reassuring to know that our God looks for the good in us even though we are imperfect?

A God Who Is “Ready to Forgive”

14. When we sin, what burdensome feelings may we experience, but how may we benefit from Jehovah’s forgiveness?

¹⁴ When we sin, the disappointment, shame, and guilt that we feel may cause us to think that we could never be worthy of serving Jehovah. Remember, though, that Jehovah is “ready to forgive.” (Psalm 86:5) Yes, if we repent of our sins and strive hard not to repeat them, we may benefit from Jehovah’s forgiveness. Consider how the Bible describes this marvelous facet of Jehovah’s love.

15. How far away from us does Jehovah put our sins?

¹⁵ The psalmist David used a vivid expression to describe Jehovah’s forgiveness: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Italics ours; Psalm 103:12, The Amplified Bible) How far is east from west? In a sense, east is always at the utmost distance imaginable from west; the two points can never meet. One scholar notes that this expression means “as far as possible; as far as we can imagine.” David’s inspired words tell us that when Jehovah forgives, he puts our sins as far away from us as we can imagine.

16. When Jehovah forgives our sins, why may we feel assured that he views us as clean thereafter?

¹⁶ Have you ever tried to remove a stain from a light-colored garment? Perhaps despite your best efforts, the stain remained visible. Notice how Jehovah describes his capacity for forgiveness: “Though the sins of you people should prove to be as scarlet, they will be made white just like snow; though they should be red like crimson cloth, they will become even like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) The word “scarlet” denotes a bright-red color.a “Crimson” was one of the deep colors of dyed material. We can never through our own efforts remove the stain of sin. Yet, Jehovah can take sins that are like scarlet and crimson and make them white like snow or undyed wool. So when Jehovah forgives our sins, we need not feel that we bear the stain of such sins for the rest of our life.

17. In what sense does Jehovah throw our sins behind his back?

¹⁷ In a moving song of gratitude that Hezekiah composed after he was spared from a deadly sickness, he said to Jehovah: “You have thrown behind your back all my sins.” (Isaiah 38:17) Jehovah is here portrayed as taking the sins of a repentant wrongdoer and throwing them behind Him where He neither sees them nor takes notice of them anymore. According to one reference work, the idea conveyed may be expressed: “You have made [my sins] as if they had not happened.” Is that not comforting?

18. How does the prophet Micah indicate that when Jehovah forgives, He removes our sins permanently?

¹⁸ In a promise of restoration, the prophet Micah expressed his conviction that Jehovah would forgive his repentant people: “Who is a God like you, . . . passing over transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? . . . And you will throw into the depths of the sea all their sins.” (Micah 7:18, 19) Imagine what those words meant to people living in Bible times. Was there any chance of retrieving something that had been hurled “into the depths of the sea”? Micah’s words thus indicate that when Jehovah forgives, he removes our sins permanently.

23. (a) How do the psalmist’s words assure us that Jehovah is deeply concerned about us as individuals? (b) In what ways does Jehovah help us?

²³ Jehovah does not show compassion to his people only as a group. Our loving God is deeply concerned about us as individuals. He is keenly aware of any suffering we may undergo. The psalmist said: “The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous ones, and his ears are toward their cry for help. Jehovah is near to those that are broken at heart; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.” (Psalm 34:15, 18) How does Jehovah help us as individuals? He does not necessarily remove the cause of our suffering. But he has made abundant provisions for those who cry out to him for help. His Word offers practical counsel that can make a difference. In the congregation, he provides spiritually qualified overseers, who endeavor to reflect his compassion in helping others. (James 5:14, 15) As the “Hearer of prayer,” Jehovah gives “holy spirit to those asking him.” (Psalm 65:2; Luke 11:13) All such provisions are expressions of “the tender compassion of our God.”​—Luke 1:78.