ANY assignment dey for congregation wey you for like to do but e never reach your hand? Maybe na work wey another person de do. Or maybe na assignment wey you de do before but you no de do-am again. Maybe because of your age, your health, hard condition, or your family wey you de care for, you no de do everything wey you for like to do. Or e fit be say because of how things change for the organization, you leave the work wey you don de do for many years. No matter the reason, you fit feel say you no de do everything wey you for like to do for the work of God. If you de feel like that, this one fit make you lose joy sometimes. Even with that one, wetin go fit help you make you no de always dey sad, de feel pain, or de vex? How you fit de always get joy?

From the example of John the Baptist, we fit learn something about how to always get joy. John do some special work for Jehovah’s service. But maybe John no expect wetin happen for e life after. E fit no think-am say the time wey e go spend for prison go plenty pass the time wey e spend for the preaching work. Even with that one, John continue to get joy, and that joy no stop for all e life. Wetin help John? And how we fit continue to get joy even when things no go the way we expect-am?

Around the month of April for 29 C.E., John start the work wey Jehovah put for e hand. The Messiah de come, so the work wey John do that time, na to prepare people for the Messiah. E de tell people say: “Repent, because the Kingdom of heaven don near.” (Matt. 3:2; Luke 1:12-17) Plenty people listen. The truth be say, plenty people travel long distance to come hear the message, and the message touch many of them. So they repent and baptize. John still warn the leaders for religion that time, e no fear. This leaders de feel say na them righteous pass other people. John warn them say judgement de wait for them if they no change. (Matt. 3:5-12) John do the most important thing for e work when e baptize Jesus around the month of October for 29 C.E. From that time, John tell people make they follow Jesus, the Messiah wey God be promise.​—John 1:32-37.

Na the special work wey John do Jesus talk about when e say: “Among the people wey women  don born, no one dey important pass John the Baptist.” (Matt. 11:11) We dey sure say John really glad for the blessings wey e receive from God. Like John, plenty people today don receive many blessing from God. One example na about one brother wey e name na Terry. The brother don marry and e wife name na Sandra. Two of them don dey full-time service for more than 50 years. Terry talk say: “I don enjoy many fine work from God. I don serve as pioneer, Bethelite, special pioneer, circuit overseer, district overseer, and now I de serve as special pioneer again.” Person de really happy when e receive assignment from Jehovah. But the example of John go help us see say, when condition change for person, e go need to work hard if e want continue to get joy.

John the Baptist continue to get joy because e value all the assignment wey e receive. Think about this example. After Jesus baptize, the work wey John de do for God begin reduce but the one wey Jesus de do begin increase. But this one worry the disciples of John. So they go tell John say: “See, e de baptize people and everybody de go meet him.” (John 3:26) John answer them say: “Na the man wey de marry get the woman wey de marry. But when the friend of the man stand and hear e voice, e go really happy say e hear the voice of e friend. So my joy don complete.” (John 3:29) John no do competition with Jesus, and e no feel say e own work no get value because the work wey Jesus de do dey important pass e own. Instead, John continue to get joy because e value e work as “friend of” “the man wey de marry.”

Because of the way John de see things, e continue to dey happy even as e assignment no easy. For example, from the time wey they born John na Nazarite e be. And so e no drink wine. (Luke 1:15) Jesus talk about the kind simple life wey John live. E say: “When John come, e no chop and drink.” But Jesus and e disciples no live the kind life wey Nazirite de live. They live like other people. (Matt. 11:18, 19) Another thing be say, John no do any miracle but e know say God give the disciples of Jesus power to do miracle. E even know say some of e former disciples get the power. (Matt. 10:1; John 10:41) But e no begin de think too much about how e own disciples dey different from the disciples of Jesus. Instead, e dey busy de do the assignment wey e don receive from Jehovah.

For the same way, if we value the assignment wey we de do for Jehovah now, we go always get joy. Terry wey we talk about before talk say, “I put my mind for each of the assignment wey they give me.” When Terry think about e life for full-time service, e talk say, “I no regret anything. Na only fine-fine things wey I experience I de remember.”

We go fit get more joy as we de serve Jehovah, if we de think about why any assignment or work from Jehovah really dey special. Na honor to “work with God.” (1 Cor. 3:9) If we get any fine property and we want make e always dey fine, we go need to always take care of the property. For the same way, we go continue to get joy if we de always think about the honor wey we get to work with Jehovah. We no go compare wetin we de do with wetin other people de do. And we no go de think say the assignment wey Jehovah give other people better pass our own.​—Gal. 6:4.

Maybe John be know say e work no go continue for long time. But maybe e no know say the work go end for time wey e no expect. (John 3:30) For the year 30 C.E., about six months after Jesus baptize, King Herod put John for prison. Even with that one, John still do wetin e fit do to always tell people about the truth. (Mark 6:17-20) As things don change, wetin help John continue to get joy? E put e mind for things wey Jehovah value.

When John dey for prison that time, e receive report about the way the work wey Jesus de do de increase. (Matt. 11:2; Luke 7:18) John really believe say na Jesus be the Messiah. But e fit don de think how Jesus go do everything wey Bible talk say the Messiah go do. For example, e fit don ask e self say: ‘Since Bible talk say the Messiah go be King, the time go soon reach? Na this one go make  me comot from this prison?’ John want know more things about wetin Jesus go do. So e send two of e disciples to ask Jesus say: “Na you be the Person wey they talk say de come, or make we wait for different person?” (Luke 7:19) John go don listen to them well when they come back. They describe the miracles wey Jesus don do and talk wetin e say make they tell John. They talk say: “Blind people de see now, cripple de waka, people with leprosy de well again, deaf people de hear, dead people de come back to life, and poor people de hear the good news.”​—Luke 7:20-22.

The report wey the disciples bring go don encourage John. The report make John dey sure more-more say na Jesus de do things wey Bible talk about the Messiah. Na true say, Jesus no go free John from prison when e come. But the work wey John don do no be waste and John know this one. Even with e condition, e get reason to dey happy.

Like John, make we put our mind for our service to Jehovah. If we do this one, we go always get joy and dey patient as we de endure. (Col. 1:9-11) We fit endure if we de read Bible and think deep about wetin we read. And this one go de remind us say anything wey we do for God no be for nothing. (1 Cor. 15:58) Sandra talk say: “I de read one chapter for Bible everyday, and this one don help me near Jehovah more. Bible reading de help me think about Jehovah instead of myself.” We fit still de think about the report wey we de hear about the work wey our brothers and sisters de do for Jehovah. When we think about how Jehovah de bless the work, we go stop to think about only ourself. Sandra talk say: “The different-different program wey we de watch for JW Broadcasting^® every month, de help us de near the organization more-more. And they still de help us to always get joy for our assignment.”

Na true say for the short time wey John the Baptist preach, e preach with “the spirit and power of Elijah.” But even with that one, like Elijah, John “na person with feeling like us.” (Luke 1:17; Jas. 5:17) We go show say we de do like John if we value any assignment from Jehovah and put our mind for our service to God. If we do like that, we go always get joy as we de serve Jehovah no matter wetin happen for our life.