Friday, August 27 Besides those things of an external kind, there is . . . the anxiety for all the congregations.​—2 Cor. 11:28.

[Áine]

Friday, August 27

Besides those things of an external kind, there is . . . the anxiety for all the congregations.—2 Cor. 11:28.

 

The apostle Paul had many reasons for feeling anxious. The problems his brothers and sisters faced weighed heavily on his mind. (2 Cor. 2:4) Opposers beat him and threw him in prison. He also had to endure hardships that caused anxiety, such as being “low on provisions.” (Phil. 4:12) And considering that he had been shipwrecked at least three times at that point in his life, we can only imagine the anxiety he experienced when traveling by boat. (2 Cor. 11:23-27) How did Paul deal with the anxiety? Paul felt anxious for his brothers and sisters when they faced challenges, but he did not try to fix all their problems by himself. Paul was modest. He arranged for others to help in caring for the congregation, trustworthy men such as Timothy and Titus. The work those brothers did no doubt helped to reduce Paul’s anxiety.—Phil. 2:19, 20; Titus 1:1, 4, 5. w20.02 23 ¶11-12

[Elnathan]

Humility & modesty helped Paul to acknowledge his limitations. 
Elders who are having these qualities will accept help from others and let them carry their burdens especially in areas where they have little or no control at all. Like Paul they rely on God’s word for encouragement not on their experience/education/skills. 

[Vinnie]

 In construction, we are encouraged to be careful on lifting too heavy of a load on our own because we can easily get hurt. Share the heavy loads or get help. The Apostle Paul and Moses were given weighty assignments. Jehovah never micro managed them on how to carry them out. Moses listened to his father in law and shared his load. Paul found help to share his load. When we try to do things on our own our anxiety can rocket sky high, but our anxiety can be managed when we have help.