Are you struggling with feelings of hopelessness, helplessness or worthlessness?
Are you feeling depressed or disappointed… overwhelmed with financial problems... relationship difficulties, the end of a love affair or death of a loved one? Are you questioning whether life is even worth living anymore?
Almost any unfortunate experience can make someone consider a drastic solution. Would it surprise you to learn that by this time tomorrow, at least 84 people will have died from suicide? Not only will their deaths be recorded as completed suicides, but another estimated 1,900 adults will have attempted to end it all. An estimated 5 million living Americans have attempted to kill themselves.1
Suicide is the whispered word. The taboo subject. Yet this may well be what you are contemplating. I don’t want you to be another statistic; that’s why I’m writing this. In one short tract like this I can’t begin to cover all that needs to be said, but I plead with you to hold on. Whatever it is that is troubling you, believe me, this, too, shall pass. Not just mere words, but the truth. Please take it from me. I’ve been there, but I came up out of the abyss of despair. I tried to end it all and failed. Thank God I failed. Now I want to help you.
You can’t work, play, drink, smoke, take drugs, ignore, read, study, talk, or forget your way out of whatever it is that’s troubling you. You just can’t. Failed suicides relate that they tried to take their own lives because they couldn’t get away from themselves and their disturbing thoughts. They weren’t choosing death as much as choosing to end their seemingly unbearable pain. The first thing I need to tell you is that you can’t solve your problems on your own. You need God.
God understands.
He knows when we are losing our grip and on the brink of disaster. He is offering you His hand this very moment. He will do for you what you cannot do for yourself.
God listens.
He wants you to pour out your innermost feelings to Him. You think life has given you a raw deal? Tell Him. You can’t endure the grinding poverty, the painful illness, the distressing loneliness, the awfulness of whatever it is that has you so down? “Come to Me,” is His invitation. It’s real.
The Bible tells us:
Don’t you yet understand? Don’t you know by now that the everlasting God, the Creator of the farthest parts of earth, never grows faint or weary? No one can fathom the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the tired and worn out, and strength to the weak. Even the youths shall be exhausted, and the young men will all give up. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.2
God speaks.
The Bible is the sourcebook for help and hope. We deprive ourselves of that which can enable us to hang on when the going gets tough, when we ignore what God wants us to hear. Fear not, for I am with you, God says. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.3
God saves.
The Bible assures us that God will not ignore a broken, humble heart.4 If you truly want to be helped, confess to God that you’ve wandered from Him, and acknowledge that Jesus is the only way back. He died on the cross to forgive your sins, and rose again to give you new life. Perhaps you’ve never even acknowledged Him, but you can trust Him now. Ask Him to come into your life and give you guidance, strength, wisdom and right thinking. Turn your life over to Jesus. He will save you, forgive you, and empower you with a new, eternal life.
God heals.
God changes people and changes situations. When you trust Him as your Savior, you can become a truly new person. God keeps His promises, and you will find the Bible full of them.
Psalm 40 states:
I waited patiently for God to help me; then he listened and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair...and set my feet on a hard, firm path and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing...5
God loves you.
God’s love is best demonstrated through His people. It will be very important and helpful to you if you will seek out the friendship of other Christians. If you don’t know any Christians, ask God to help you find such people. He will do that for you.
When you are suicidal, your perspective freezes and logic becomes confused. Many underlying tensions have pulled you down, but the good news is you don’t have to stay that way. Just remember that whatever brought you that low, will NOT remain forever. Life is not static. Circumstances change. Your circumstances will change once you have placed yourself in God’s care. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, including a present, a future and an eternity that will be better and blessed because God—and you—are in it.
Helen K. Hosier
God can change your life. You can come to Him through a prayer like this:
Lord God, I have come to the end of myself. I have nothing left, and I want to turn to You to save me. I believe Your only Son, Jesus, already died to pay for my sins, and I accept Your love and forgiveness now based on what He did for me. Help me, God, to become a whole person. Let Jesus live inside me to make me a new creature for eternity. Amen.