National Suicide Awareness Month
Suicide is not your typical bulletin article material. It doesn’t get a lot of attention by the church most of the time. I assume that is mainly because it is an uncomfortable topic and one that has not been without controversy. Yet, suicide is not a new concept. It was around during Bible times. The most notable people in Scripture are Judas (Matthew 27:5), Saul, and Saul’s armor bearer (1 Samuel 31:3-6). There are other individuals who suicided: Zimri (1 Kings 16:18), Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:23), and even Samson (it is not your typical story you think of, but by definition he did in the process of bringing down the Philistines according to Judges 16:29-31).
I bring up this topic because September is National Suicide Awareness month. Most of us have been impacted by suicide in some way. Some of us have lost friends and family to it, and others have just been heartbroken for people in the community when someone they loved made the decision to take their life and our heart aches for their family--even if we didn’t know them well.
A few years ago at a conference a person who had specialized in working with people impacted by suicide shared that the three common reasons why people choose to take their life was that they were either trying to communicate something, control something, or avoid something. It might be that they were trying to communicate the pain that they were in or communicate the struggle they were facing mentally, yet they felt that their voice was not being heard. In other situations they might have been trying to gain control of some part of their life because they felt they had none. Maybe they had been the victim of abuse or neglect and felt there was no other option for them. Other times they have gotten into trouble. Sometimes sinful behavior but sometimes just a bad choice financially or in their occupation and they are attempting to avoid the fall out.
As I reflected on those three reasons, I couldn’t help but think that God has done what He can to fulfill those needs and has supplied His church to do the same thing.
Communicate - Through Jesus we have a wide open line of communication with the Father. He has spoken to us through His Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and has allowed for us to approach His “throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). So know that if you are trying to communicate something, God hears you. The name in the Old Testament found in Genesis 16 when Hagar cries out in her affliction is El Shama, “God listens.” As His people may we also be the people who hear. Let people talk. Let them communicate their struggles without judgement and help them find the help they need (Galatians 6:2; James 5:16).
Control - Sometimes life feels out of control. There are things that are hard. There are things that seem to be spinning and it is beyond our control to stop them. You are not alone in that struggle. It has happened to so many people throughout history and it will continue until the Lord comes back. Yet, we ultimately know who is in control. When life feels like it is spiraling you can approach the God who is constant. Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He was the same loving and just God when Job was on top of the world as He was when Job was suffering the loss of all things. Paul later reflected of his own life that he knew how to go through good and bad times because he could do “all things through Christ” who gave him strength (Philippians 4:13). Help people not only find God, but to find a way to find security in their physical and mental health. May we be the hands and feet of the God who controls al things.
Avoid - We have “all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Therefore we have all faced the penalty of those sins. Jesus, however, died so that we didn’t have to pay that ultimate penalty of death (Romans 6:23). So, if you are contemplating suicide or any other form of self harm as a result of a bad choice you have made or because of some pain you are facing, then know there is a loving God that has already sacrificed so much so you don’t have to face it alone. There is a family of Christians that are more than willing to walk through that journey with you. God loves you and desires nothing but good for you.
God is Listening. God is in Control. God has already paid for all our struggles.
Let God and His people walk you through the difficult times you are facing.
If you have immediate thoughts of suicide please call or text 988 or visit the ER and get immediate assistance. Then let us know and we will be there to support you in the journey to a better place. You are loved.
- Ben (and the rest of your church family)