This past week has been filled with sorrow, grief and hope. Yes, that is a strange combination, but hope is the flame that keeps us going.
At one of my former high schools, a student decided to end his life. There have been a few over the past couple of years, but enough is enough.
In this article, I am going to be tackling a few tough subjects; suicide, life and life's purpose.
Suicide
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the nation. I am not an expert in this subject, so I will leave it to the professionals; however, there was a time in my life where I thought ending it would be better than continuing.
You see, life is a gift and when hard times come (which they will) it becomes difficult to find a sense of stability.
The thing that I learned is to never let go of hope. I found my hope in the Biblical truth of Jesus Christ, His sacrifice of death and His resurrection. One of my favorite verses that brought me so much hope is John 14: 27
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (NIV).
What Jesus is saying in this verse is that He is peace. Jesus is not dismissing that we have trouble and that we will become fearful; however, He is saying when we give that trouble and fear to Him, we leave it at the foot of the cross in exchange for hope, peace and love.
Depression and Suicide is not an emotion that one can just brush off and say they're okay, it is a serious topic and mental illness. If you or anyone you know is going through depression or suicidal thoughts, please seek professional help. Life is precious and you are on this earth for a purpose.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Call 1-800-273-8255
Life and Its Purpose
I truly believe that every single person, yes you, has a purpose. One of the most known Bible verses about our purpose is Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you", declares that Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (NIV).
The promise continues with Jeremiah 29: 12-14
"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of our heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and I will bring you back from captivity" (NIV).
God promises us that when we seek Him with all of our heart, He will show up. He hasn't broken a promise since the beginning of time and He won't start now. Trust the truth that the creator of everything knows you by name and created you for a specific purpose.
However, the thing that doesn't really get talked about is the devil's role on this earth. Just like we need to know who God is; we need to know who our enemy is.
1 Peter 5:8-9 describes the devil perfectly,
"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering" (NIV).
The devil is trying to kill, steal and destroy us.
You may be thinking, "well crap, there is no hope then, if we're being targeted and trying to be killed and destroyed".
Let me tell you that there is hope, and it's Jesus.
In John 16: 33 Jesus tells us that there is hope through Him,
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world" (NIV).
That is a lot to take in, but I will leave you with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus' love for you. He died and defeated the grave because He was thinking about you. Jesus was thinking about the purpose of you and how much He loves you.
