Several recent, high-profile tragedies have thrust an extremely painful subject into the forefront of the national consciousness.
In the United States, someone commits suicide every 11.5 minutes. And for every successful suicide attempt, there are 25 unsuccessful attempts. About 6,000 people commit suicide every year in the United Kingdom, but as bad as that is, there are more than 50 countries that have a higher suicide rate than Great Britain.
There are a lot of people hurting, a lot of people living without hope — and more than likely some of them are living within your sphere of influence. Most everyone has been affected by suicide, and it happens to people both in and out of the church.
Suicide is no respecter of age, race, gender, or social standing.
If you struggle with suicidal thoughts, or if you feel like your life is hopeless or that you don’t mean anything to anyone, you can know there are people who do care, and there are people who will help. And if you feel you need help, please ask for help. Speak to a physician. A teacher. A parent. A counselor. A pastor or other person with spiritual wisdom and experience.
I’d love to tell you faith in God takes away the kind of anguish that leads to suicide, but even people of faith can struggle. Mental illness and emotional struggles are real. So how do we approach this from a Biblical perspective?
Remember this: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10. That’s God saying He’s there for you.
In life, it isn’t that we want the struggles taken away entirely. We want strength to get through our challenges, our dark times. God promises you that. Don’t cave in to that impulse to think you’re not worth anything or that you don’t matter. There’s a very real spiritual battle going on that everyone is caught in the midst of, a battle in which the devil wants people to lose hope in God.
A friend of mine, a man I’ll call Phil, felt like he simply couldn’t go on. He had made plans to end his life and was driving to the place where he intended to do so. For some reason, Phil stopped to fill his vehicle with gas. While he was pumping gas into his truck, a man he barely knew saw him and called his name. When Phil responded, the man asked him what he was doing the coming Tuesday night. “Well, I don’t have anything planned,” Phil replied.
“I’d like to invite you to a Bible study at my house,” the man continued. “I’d just love it if you could make it.”
Phil thought a moment. “Sure,” he said. “I’ll be there. Why not?”
Phil attended the study and went back again and again. He surrendered His life to Jesus and went on to dedicate many years of his life to being a youth leader in his church. Phil often preaches in his local church.
Depression, loneliness, despair, deep pain, and feelings of worthlessness can push a person into some dark places. But regardless of the circumstances in your life, there is hope, because God offers hope and a future. An eternal future.
Don’t lose hope. If dark thoughts crowd your mind, or if you know someone battling with depression, seek help. And lean on God.
National Suicide Prevention Hotline (United States): 1-800-273-8255
To commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, It Is Written returned to Europe. Two parallel series took place—one in Luther’s Germany where the Reformation began and the other in Rome, Italy, a place where much of the Reformation controversy centered.
In Rome, from October 25 to 31, Speaker/Director John Bradshaw preached an evangelistic series titled Solo Cinque. Solo Cinque focused on the five premises of the Reformation, known as the Five Solas. These are five Latin phrases that emerged during the Reformation to summarize the Reformers’ theological convictions about the essentials of Christianity. Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone); Sola Fide (faith alone); Sola Gratia (grace alone); Solus Christus (Christ alone); and Soli Deo Gloria (to the glory of God alone). “It’s really a special privilege to be able to share the message of the Bible in Rome. The city is so historic. So much has happened here that impacted Christianity and the world. God has worked through these meetings,” John said. Mariarosa Cavalieri, It Is Written’s evangelism coordinator in Rome, trained and organized over 100 members from five churches across Rome for the series. They spent more than one year preparing for the bridge-building series, Solo Cinque, which was held barely one mile from the Vatican. The series climaxed on October 31, the day when 500 years ago Martin Luther nailed his history-changing theses.
heute sagen? (Power. Faith. Hope. What would Luther say to us today?). The series ran for three weekends from October 13 to 29. Pastor Flickinger explored the origins of the Reformation and the similarities between Luther’s time and our world today.
