The apostle Paul was saying that he faced a painful personal trial of some sort. He called this trial “an angel of Satan” that kept “slapping” (“beating,” ftn.) him. Satan or his demon angels may not directly have caused Paul’s trials, as if driving a thorn into his flesh. But when those wicked spirits noticed the “thorn,” they may have been eager to push it in deeper, so to speak, to increase Paul’s pain. What did Paul do? At first, Paul wanted to be rid of the “thorn.” He admits: “Three times I begged the Lord [Jehovah] . . . that it would depart from me.” Yet, despite Paul’s prayers, the thorn in the flesh remained. Does this mean that Jehovah did not answer Paul’s prayers? Not at all. He did answer them. Jehovah did not remove the problem, but he did give Paul the strength to endure it. Jehovah said: “My power is being made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:8, 9) And with God’s help, Paul was able to maintain his joy and inner peace!​—Phil. 4:4-7. w19.11 9 ¶4-5

Jehovah deserves our exclusive devotion because he is our Creator and Life-Giver. (Rev. 4:11) However, we face a challenge. Even though we love and respect Jehovah, we might be lured away from giving him the exclusive devotion he deserves. In the Bible, being devoted to God implies having a deep love for him. When we are exclusively devoted to Jehovah, we will worship only him. We will not allow anyone or anything to take his place in our heart. (Ex. 34:14) Our devotion to Jehovah is not blind. Why not? Because it is based on the facts we have learned about him. We have come to admire his beautiful qualities. We know and agree with his likes and dislikes. We understand and support his purpose for us. We feel honored that he allows us the opportunity to be his friend. (Ps. 25:14) Every detail we learn about our Creator draws us closer to him.​—Jas. 4:8. w19.10 26 ¶1-3

Today, our brothers and sisters face a variety of challenges. For instance, many suffer from natural or man-made disasters. When that happens, some of us may be able to welcome these friends into our home. Others may be able to help financially. But all of us can ask Jehovah to help our brothers and sisters. If we learn that a brother or sister is discouraged, we may not know what to say or how to react. But all of us have much to offer. For example, we can make time to be with our friend. We can listen sympathetically when he or she speaks. And we can share our favorite comforting scripture. (Isa. 50:4) What matters most is that you are there with your friends when they need you. We must be determined to build and maintain strong relationships with our brothers and sisters now. Those friendships will last not only through the end of this system but for eternity! w19.11 7 ¶18-19