I appreciate you taking the time to write. You raise some valid concerns.

1. First I would like to say that there is nothing special about me. I always felt that when Jehovah was listening to my prayers, or blessing me in some way, I was merely catching up to what others already had. The whole point of posting my experiences is to demonstrate that Jehovah is real and that he truly cares for his people, each and everyone of us, actually getting involved in doing things on our behalf. (Something I especially wanted to share with my daughter-in-law.)

I don't believe that my experiences are that uncommon, and what Jehovah has done for me he has also done for many others. I suppose the big difference between those who have experienced Jehovah's blessings and those who haven't is the all-important ingredient of faith. If I may boast about one thing, Jehovah has been real to me from the beginning when, at the age of 16, I first came to know him with the help of the book "From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained." (Published back in 1958.) I believed with all my heart that he was real and cared for us, as demonstrated by the many experiences recorded in the Bible. I deeply appreciated all the faithful men of old mentioned in that book, and wanted to be like them, with the same sort of faith.

Yet, the apostle Paul tells us that "faith is not a possession of all people." (2 Thess. 3:2) The Jews in Jesus' home town lacked the faith that he had been sent by Jehovah, and they missed out for "he did not do many powerful works there on account of their lack of faith." (Matt. 13:58) The one thing that we can offer Jehovah that is very personal and of great value to him is our faith. In fact, we are told that "without faith it is impossible to please him well." (Heb. 11:6) It means a great deal to him when we have faith to such extent that we entrust our very life to him, taking notice of him in everything we do as did the many men and women of long ago, and remembered by Jehovah, as listed by Paul in Hebrews chapter 11. They were blessed for their faith and are encouraging examples to us. I wanted to be like them, and not like Adam.

When it came to building my life around the preaching work, I felt that Jesus had obligated our heavenly Father to care for my daily needs, as promised in Matthew 6:33. I absolutely believed that promise. I couldn't even imagine that he would fail to care for me while I was seeking first the kingdom. Usually it would be by finding suitable employment, and when that was not possible then he would find some other inventive means. I was never left in the lurch. Let me briefly share an experience that might help explain what I mean:

When my wife, son, and I were pioneering (140 hours per month) in Greece, Jehovah helped us in many different ways. Although I was not officially allowed to work, there was always some work that presented itself to help us get by. And Jehovah helped take care of the rest. When we attended an Assembly, for example, there was one brother who would always be waiting to greet us, extending his hand and slipping an envelope into my hand that would contain enough drachmas to cover our traveling expenses to and back home from the Assembly. This one time, a few days before another Assembly, I was able to help harvest green olives by climbing up into the trees and beating the olives down with a long stick. In two days I had earned enough money to cover our expenses for the upcoming Assembly. Anticipating that the kind brother would be waiting with the usual envelope I was discussing with my wife what we should do with that extra money, since we didn't really need it this time. Sure enough, the brother was there again to greet us but this time there was no envelope. Now, how did he know that we didn't need it? We certainly never mentioned anything to anybody, whether we were in need or not; only telling Jehovah our concerns. Not receiving anything on this occasion was just as encouraging, perhaps even more so, than when we received help. It was evidence that it was Jehovah who was taking care of us.

Jehovah is not partial. He blesses all who trust in him and obey him; whether they are of the anointed or not. (Acts 10:34,35) Sometimes Jehovah sees fit to use a certain individual, or individuals, for a particular purpose, and then he will help that person to carry out the work he has assigned him to do; something the person would not otherwise be able to do on his own. (Phil. 2:13; 1 Cor. 1:26-29) That doesn't mean Jehovah cares more for him than for others. In fact, most likely that person has been chosen by Jehovah to be of benefit to others, who are really the ones Jehovah cares about. That is evident in that the person used by Jehovah is held accountable for how he discharges his obligation, as Jesus said, "Indeed, everyone to whom much was given, much will be demanded of him." (Luke 12:48)

I have pointed out repeatedly on my website that the anointed are not more important than the ones they have been entrusted with to feed. As Jesus explained, "For which one is greater, the one reclining at the table or the one ministering? Is it not the one reclining at the table?" It was Jehovah's sheep who were reclining at the table while Jesus was ministering to them. (Luke 22:27) In the same way Jehovah has also appointed certain ones to minister to his sheep and "keep giving them their measure of food supplies at the proper time." (Luke 12:42) If this has caused some of the anointed ministers to become self-important then they have missed the purpose of their appointment. (Would you enjoy eating in a restaurant where the Waiter feels obviously superior to the persons he is waiting on, not tolerating any complaints?) If you have been led to believe that the anointed are somehow special and more important than the sheep they are supposed to feed then you have been misinformed. You certainly haven't learned that from my site.

2. Why did my wife not discern that the jewelry was causing her problems? Actually she did. She told me, after I had identified the item with Jehovah's help, that she was having headaches whenever she wore the locket, although she did not make the connection that her health problems were caused by demons. After all, the piece of jewelry was given to her by another sister, the wife of an elder at that. And believe me, without Jehovah's help I would never have been able to identify the source of the problem. She went from a happy pioneer to a zombie in a short time, and recovered only after I disposed of the object.

I hope you will find encouragement from my experiences, and that of many others, to have the sort of faith that makes possible a close relationship with Jehovah, our heavenly Father. And if you haven’t had any personal outstanding experiences yet, be patient. The time is soon coming when everyone will experience Jehovah’s direct intervention on a personal level, as he protects his obedient people through the great tribulation.
 

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