Rosie says, “I got hung up on certain worries by making things worse in my mind or imagining the worst-case scenarios.” What Bible verses helped? One of them is Matthew 6:34: “Never be anxious about the next day, for the next day will have its own anxieties. Each day has enough of its own troubles.” Rosie now says that those words of Jesus helped her to stop worrying about what might happen tomorrow. She adds, “I had enough troubles as it was, without adding worries about situations that hadn’t happened and probably wouldn’t happen.”

Yasmine too sensed her anxiety taking control over her. “I would cry a couple of days during the week, and I couldn’t sleep some nights. I felt that negative thinking was eating me alive.” What scripture helped? She refers to 1 Peter 5:7: “Throw all your anxiety on [God], because he cares for you.” Yasmine says: “As time went on, I kept praying to Jehovah, and he answered my prayers. I felt as if a big weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. My negative thinking does come back from time to time, but now I know how to handle it.”

A young woman named Isabella says: “I think procrastination is genetic because my dad has it too. I put off important things in order to do nothing​—just to relax or watch TV instead. It’s a harmful habit because it increases stress and causes a person to do a poor job.” A principle that helped her is reflected at 2 Timothy 2:15, which says: “Do your utmost to present yourself approved to God, a workman with nothing to be ashamed of.” Says Isabella, “I didn’t want Jehovah to be ashamed of my work just because I procrastinated.” She has improved greatly.

Similarly, Kelsey comments: “I would have a project due and put it off till the last second. I would cry, lose sleep, and worry. It wasn’t good for me.” Kelsey found help at Proverbs 13:16: “The shrewd person acts with knowledge, but the fool exposes his own foolishness.” She explains what meditating on this scripture taught her: “It is wise to be practical and to plan ahead. Now I have a journal that I keep on my desk to schedule upcoming work, and this helps me to schedule myself, not leaving things till the last minute.”

“My husband walked out on our marriage, leaving me with four young children,” relates Kirsten. What Scriptural principle came to her aid? Proverbs 17:17 reads: “A true friend shows love at all times, and is a brother who is born for times of distress.” Kirsten reached out to others who serve Jehovah as she does. What did she find? “My friends rallied around me in so many ways! Some left groceries and flowers on my doorstep. Three times a small army of people helped my children and me to move from one house to another. One person helped me find a job. My friends were always there for me.”

Delphine, mentioned earlier, likewise struggled with loneliness. She recalls after all her losses: “I felt as if I were outside the store of life looking in on everybody else. I felt very lonely.” One scripture that helped her was Psalm 68:6: “God gives those who are alone a home to dwell in.” She explains: “I knew that the verse could not just mean a home in a physical sense now. Rather, I came to understand that God offers us a spiritual home, a place of real safety that provides genuine connections and emotional attachment to others who love Jehovah. But I knew that I could not get closer to others until I first got closer to Jehovah. So Psalm 37:4 helped with that: ‘Find exquisite delight in Jehovah, and he will grant you the desires of your heart.’”

She concludes: “I realized that I needed to attach myself more firmly to Jehovah. He is the finest of the fine. Then I made a list of activities that I could enjoy with others, so that I could form connections with them that were based on spiritual values. I learned to see the good in others and to treat them as if that were all that I could see.”

Of course, friends who serve God are still imperfect. Jehovah’s Witnesses struggle with problems just as everyone else does. But Bible training motivates people to help others whenever possible. It is wise to make such friends. However, can Bible principles also help with problems that cannot be solved today, such as chronic health issues and grief?