I have known people that have killed themselves. Unfortunately, most people have known someone that has done that. It’s a horrible epidemic that is bordering on a pandemic. Maybe it’s not that extreme but sometimes it feels like it is by the stories I hear in life and on the news.

The numbers grow when you consider both kinds of suicide. The first kind is deliberately doing something that you know will end your life quickly. The other is using drugs and alcohol in a habitual way to cover up life’s pains. The latter becomes a slow, unintentional suicide. Both often stem from loneliness.

Travesties like these are heard of more and more. People are unhappy and desperate. Sometimes you hear the misnomer that suicide is a brave choice. This is a lie from the pit of hell. Suicide is not a brave choice; it is a haunting cry for help except if you succeed, it’s too late for an answer.

Money, fame, or success doesn’t cure this problem. A lot of the people who attempted or succeeded at suicide had plenty of all of that and still felt alone.

I don’t want to disgrace people that have done this. I want to pray for their families and friends. And, more importantly, I want to pray for the people that are on the verge of ending their lives in such a tragic way. It’s too late after the worst happens but there are many avenues of help before that.

What cures the problem is knowing you’re not alone. And, not only knowing that, but living it day to day with a spirit of hope for tomorrow. It takes work to do this and lots of reminding yourself day in and day out. It is far too easy to believe the lie that, “I am alone and no one else cares.” This phrase is also a lie from the pit of hell. The devil wants people to believe that they are useless and unimportant. He wants us to feel alone and helpless. And his voice can be relentless. He doesn’t give up easily.

But there is another voice that is even more persistent, even though it’s not always as loud. God’s voice is always there and always wooing everyone. He doesn’t want anyone to perish. He doesn’t want anyone to feel alone or helpless. He wants all to know that there is a God who went to great lengths to show His love. “But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8)

But before Jesus died, He came to earth as one of us and was called Immanuel which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). One of God’s names is there to show us that we are not alone.

And, right before He died, He told His disciples that He was leaving but they need not be afraid because He was sending another Advocate (the Holy Spirit) who would never leave them (John 14:16). Even to this day, when someone believes in Jesus, God’s one and only Son, the Holy Spirit, comes to live within them.

God desperately wants us to know and believe that we are not alone.

However, even when the Holy Spirit is securely within us, there is still the temptation to listen to the louder voice of the evil one. We need to constantly remind ourselves of the Truth that is found within the Bible. https://peacewithgod.net/