Saturday, November 22 If Jehovah had not been my helper, I would soon have perished.​—Ps. 94:17.

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Saturday, November 22

If Jehovah had not been my helper, I would soon have perished.—Ps. 94:17.

 

Jehovah can help us to persevere. It may be a struggle to carry on, especially if we are coping with a persistent weakness. At times, our weaknesses may seem more challenging than those that the apostle Peter faced. But Jehovah can give us the strength not to give up. (Ps. 94:18, 19) For example, one brother engaged in a homosexual lifestyle for a number of years before learning the truth. He decisively left those immoral practices behind. Still, he at times struggled with wrong desires. What helped him to persevere? He explains: “Jehovah strengthens us.” He adds: “With Jehovah’s spirit . . . , I have learned that it is possible to [continue] in the way of the truth . . . Jehovah has been able to use me, and despite my imperfections he continually strengthens me.” w23.09 23 ¶12

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When someone finally admits, “If Jehovah hadn’t been my helper, I’d be gone,” that’s not drama — that’s honesty. Weakness doesn’t shame a servant of Jehovah; hiding it does. And the brother mentioned here didn’t hide. He fought through desires that didn’t magically disappear just because he learned the truth. He stayed in the struggle long enough to feel what happens when Jehovah steps in and holds the line for you.

Now that is the real lesson for us: Jehovah doesn’t wait for a perfect version of you. He strengthens the version that’s still limping, still sorting things out, still wrestling with the same old weakness at 2:00 a.m. That’s where his spirit shows up. Not in the polished moments — in the private ones.

And if Jehovah can steady a man coming out of a life that deep, then he can steady you, me, or anyone who feels like they’re one bad day from sinking. The Psalm says it straight: “If Jehovah had not been my helper…” (Psalm 94:17, NWT). That isn’t poetry. That’s survival. And it’s still true for every loyal heart holding on today.