May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13

We discussed in one of the blogs last week that the holidays are a difficult time for a lot of people. To continue in that vein, within one week I have heard from or been in the sphere of influence of, five people who have contemplated suicide, one who is in out patient counseling, 3 who were hospitalized, and with great sadness I tell you that the neighbor of one of our children was successful in his attempt. All we can pray is that in his final moments he repented and accepted the invitation for redemption offered through Jesus Christ. God does still accept death bed conversions.

For those who contemplate suicide, there are typically a number of reasons, for some it is the lack of hope, for others it is selfishness and/or pride, some believe that the world would be better off without them and finally there are those who suffer from mental illness.

Those who don’t know Jesus, look at their lives and often ask is this as good as it gets? They go through depression, difficult times and/or struggles and decide that rather than continue struggling in this life they are just going to take their lives and end their misery. The biggest problem with this thinking is that it is a lie from the enemy. Anyone who takes their own life and doesn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ will die to this life only to awaken to eternity in hell where true suffering and misery begin. What do they need? Jesus. (May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13)

Then there are those who aren’t necessarily taking/attempting to take, their own lives because of suffering, but they are instead doing it to make someone else pay and be sorry for what they have done to them. This is the epitome of pride and deeply rooted in sin. It says, I don’t care about anyone but me and I do not forgive you and am going to get my revenge…you will be sorry. This person should first, recognize what a sinful creature they (and for that matter, we all) are and that we deserve no good thing (for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23). Then recognize that their life is not their own to do with as they will (Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100:3). Their life is a gift, from God, and is to be used for His will and His glory (For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. Hebrews 10:36). They must recognize that we are to model our lives after Jesus and if we do, we care more about others than we do ourselves (For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21). They must also recognize that we are called to forgive the way that we are forgiven and Jesus forgave us before we even accepted His forgiveness (Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13). Finally, we must all remember that vengeance belongs to the Lord. (Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Romans 12:19). Ultimately though, what do they need? Jesus.

When people are sad or fearful, what do they need? (So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10) … Jesus. When they have trouble what do they need? (“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.” John 16:33)…Jesus. When they lack forgiveness, what do they need? (And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:25)…Jesus. When they are hurting, what do they need? (Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3)…Jesus.

What do we all, regardless of circumstance, need? (His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3)…Jesus.

Now that Christmas is right around the corner, we should be mindful that others are suffering and may even be considering suicide. We must remember that we are here to glorify our Heavenly Father and to be His hands and feet and seek out opportunities to be used by Him for that purpose. People are hurting and in need and you were created to minister to them, let’s step out of our comfort zone and be used by God to love on them and minister to them.

I pray that we would be hypersensitive to the needs, hurts, trials of those around us and that we would be more than willing to answer God’s call to meet their needs and glorify Him. I pray that we would have a sensitivity and tenderness that those who are hurting or in distress would need and that when we speak to them that they would hear Jesus precious voice speaking to and ministering to them. I pray that for those who are angry and bitter and unforgiving, we would have the boldness to speak to them, in love, and remind them of who they are and of Christ’s love and sacrifice for them. Most of all I pray that we would not let the busyness of Christmas cause us to be so distracted that we miss the opportunity to be God’s hands and feet. Let us serve, honor and glorify our Heavenly Father by ministering to the needs of those around us.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and have found yourself in a position of great hurting or sadness or even unforgiveness, I pray that you would go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outlined there. I promise you that Jesus can heal every hurt, ache or sadness that you might have and that through His forgiveness, you can supernaturally forgive those who have hurt you. God longs to hear your voice, minister to your needs and forgive you of your sin. Reach out to Him in prayer and experience the wonder that is our Savior Jesus Christ. Once you have prayed this prayer, please reach out to me and let me know so that I can be in prayer for you and help you grow in your knowledge of, and relationship with, our Precious Savior – Jesus.

Luv ya!