Five tips have been given for coping with a broken heart arising from some of life’s major challenges.

The tips were contained in the talk, “Jehovah Is Near to Those That Are Broken at Heart” delivered yesterday afternoon on day two of the Ota 1 2012 “Safeguard Your Heart!” District Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses holding at Ota, Ogun State, South-West Nigeria.

Delivered by Nelson Onyia, the talk was based on Psalm 34:17-20, where the Bible states: “They cried out, and Jehovah himself heard, And out of all their distresses he delivered them. Jehovah is near to those that are broken at heart; And those who are crushed in spirit he saves. Many are the calamities of the righteous one, But out of them all Jehovah delivers him. He is guarding all the bones of that one; Not one of them has been broken.”

The speaker identified economic hardship and death of a loved one as some of the things which could cause a broken heart.

He however quoted 1 Corinthians 10:13 to prove that there is no problem which God cannot solve or which cannot be borne by a determined person. According to the said scripture, “No temptation has taken YOU except what is common to men. But God is faithful, and he will not let YOU be tempted beyond what YOU can bear, but along with the temptation he will also make the way out in order for YOU to be able to endure it.”

Onyia then outlined five things that can help one to cope with shocking developments that could result in a broken heart. Among them are the good news of God’s Kingdom; regular attendance at Christian meetings where consoling words are regularly offered; constant prayer; the resurrection hope and God’s holy spirit “which can infuse us with power beyond what is normal to cope with our challenges.”

Over 4,000 delegates, many of them non-Witnesses, are attending the convention which ends today but is only the first in a series of eleven such gatherings billed to be held each weekend at the Ota Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses from September 28 to December 7, 2012. Throughout Nigeria there will be 250 conventions in 32 cities.

As previously reported by News Express, the Convention News Department had described the convention as a three-day “heart examination” and invited everyone who can find the time to come and enjoy the convention, which begins at 9:20 a.m. all three days. The statement assured that “admission is free as conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses are supported entirely by voluntary donations.”

*Photo: Young and old listening to one of the talks at the convention.