You have to have gone through some things before you can say, “I’ve tried Him for myself, and I know He won’t fail you.” A person that hasn’t been there just won’t get it. We do, because we’ve been there. Teaching about the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ is our great privilege and honor. It’s been said that we also tend to incorporate a lot of issues surrounding emotional well-being or the lack thereof. It is not our intent to obscure or hide this in any way. In fact, we see it as a central focus of our ministry, particularly to our beloved sisters. Some of us have endured unspeakable circumstances, from childhood trauma and abandonment to various types of abuse. Often, we’re silent about our pain. If this persists, the wounds grow deeper and ultimately the pain will manifest in some form of destruction; because that is what pain does. It simply doesn’t stay in the background, as much as we’d like to believe that it does. As the corporate body of Christ, because we’re still not dealing with pain and abuse as forthrightly as we should, many consider suicide their only option.
Most Christians believe that it is a sin to take one’s own life. Stripped to its basic truth, God is the Giver of life and our lives belong to Him. When we became born-again through the Lord Jesus Christ, we made a commitment to give ourselves to the Lord totally and completely; with all our faults and shortcomings included in the package. So, it stands to reason that we shouldn’t consider taking something that doesn’t belong to us. Still, the number of Christians contemplating suicide is shocking.
God tells us in Hosea 4:6 that His people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge. His wisdom is timeless. Many of His people today are being destroyed for the same reason; they lack knowledge about His Word, and have not sought it preeminently. This creates a disconnect from faith, from trusting in His supernatural favor and power. As the convenience of technology has reached levels beyond what any of us could have imagined, our spiritual maturity in Christ has not kept pace. We’ve developed a dependency on the world, and this is contributing to a negligence of our relationship with God.
We are spiritual beings. We live from the inside out, and we were created to operate by continually leaning on and tapping into God’s love. A connection to Him through Christ is vital, and our dependency upon Him is non-negotiable. Life sours, and does so miserably, without taking ownership of this incredibly consequential truth.
God wants a living sacrifice. He wants us alive and thriving. In Romans 12:1(NLT), through the Apostle Paul, Heavenly Father lovingly begs us to “give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” God pleads with us to do this because most of us struggle with giving ourselves to Him completely. It’s a real challenge for us, because we have our own agendas and they don’t always mesh with God’s plan. We don’t commit to a high level of allegiance and loyalty at the moment of our new birth reality. It’s certainly within our capability, but most of us don’t do it. We don’t give over ourselves lock, stock, and barrel and immediately walk in our destinies, the way that Paul did after his Road to Damascus transformation. Jesus Christ should be in the driver’s seat of our lives, but we don’t release the wheel that easily.
All of life, every single detail and second of it, is about surrendering to God. When you accept the truth of this reality, many things that puzzled you in the past will begin to make sense. It is impossible to repent without surrender, and a person cannot surrender to God without repentance. Both go together. Repentance requires an acceptance of the reality that we are in error. There are things that we do wrong, and things we should do that we haven’t. The longer we stay in error, refusing to admit it, the harder life will become. God’s Will is that we are perfected through and in the love of Christ. This is the only way. He said as much in John 14:6 (NLT), “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
Jesus Christ tells us in John 15:5(NLT), “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Jesus Christ is LORD! He cannot be in the backseat, because that would be beneath his majesty and deservedness. The truth is that Christ must be in the driver’s seat of our lives, where we can see exactly what he does, and how he maneuvers. You and I are witnesses to his authority and power, as he works through us. Without yielding to him, we send a message that we can do things on our own, and that just simply isn’t true. Christ knows God’s plan. He knows our destinies, and through the indwelling Holy Spirit, he will lead and guide us to ALL truth!
Life will bring us to a place of surrender, and it will do so over and over again, until we wake-up. God waits for the opportunity to demonstrate His love. If we’ll seek Him with our whole hearts, He’ll show us that suicide is never an option. It’s not what He wants for anyone. Are there times that we will feel incredibly isolated and alone? Yes, there are. The pressures of life can be overwhelming, but those are the times that we should release the wheel. Those are the times for us to recognize that we messed up, because we tried to do things on our own. We need Jesus! And every single time that we call upon him, repent, and release the wheel, like clockwork he will take over. He’s our burden-bearer, and he invites us to cast our every care upon him. He can handle any-and-everything. He’s happy to do so, and we should give him the chance. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“If You Think Suicide Is an Option” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2018. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.