Door of Hope (for Suicide Prevention Month)

There is one ray of hope: His compassion never ends. It is only the Lord's mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. Great is His faithfulness; His loving-kindness begins afresh each day. My soul claims the Lord as my inheritance; therefore I will hope in Him. The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him, to those who seek for Him. Lamentations 3:21-25

Have you lost your hope? Are you feeling hopeless? Some feel hopeless about specific areas such as their marriage, children, parents, school, significant other, health, finances, or job. But for others, this emotion permeates their entire lives. They exist but have no hopes, dreams, or goals. This is not the way God intends for us to live. He created us to live with purpose, working toward goals with a sense of anticipation for things to come.

This month is Suicide Prevention Month. There needs to be awareness, to bring it out in the open, to let others know that they don't have to be ashamed, to let others know that we all struggle at times, and even more so, that they are loved and valued and that there IS hope ... one day at a time ... so DON'T do it ... is part of what it's all about.

Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish. Proverbs 29:18

Hope is a word of optimism, and it defines what we are living for. Jesus can change our hopeless perspective into joy we can only imagine. There is no such thing as 'beyond repair' for God. He has a purpose for each of us, and there is a reason for the trials we face. Sometimes only God can see a way out, but there is ... and Jesus is the way-maker because He is the way.

Why are you discouraged and depressed, O my soul? And why are you disturbed and in turmoil within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. Psalm 42:11

God HAS NOT forgotten you. He HAS NOT overlooked you. He DOES see you. He DOES hear you. He DOES long for you to draw close to Him and to sit at His feet, just basking in His presence.

Our spiritual lives are full of highs and lows, valleys and mountaintops. But some people panic, or grow bitter and angry, when they face a disappointing situation. They ask, Where is God? Why hasn’t He answered my prayer? Why is He silent while I’m hurting? Many become disillusioned and hopeless. And instead of seeing a valley, they see an endless tunnel with no light at the end.

If you are at a low point and feeling hopeless, be encouraged. The Good Shepherd, who is the Sovereign of this universe, IS with you. You may not always sense His presence or see how He is working, but He IS there. The Lord DOES love you unconditionally and IS ready and willing to help. All you need to do is turn to Him.

God does not send anyone into a valley, but He may allow us to enter one to teach dependence upon Him. One day, perhaps you’ll look back and think, Thank you, God, for never leaving me, and for carrying me through the low place. You’ll never be able to thank Him enough.

TRUST GOD. Even in the low points in your life. Especially in the low points of your life. YOUR HOPE LIES IN GOD. Cast your cases on Him; lay your burdens at His feet. In His great compassion and love, He will sustain you.

If you haven’t discovered who God is and how He operates, then start now. Spend time reading the Bible each day, learning His promises and committing them to memory. Remember to trust Him with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understandings—or emotions.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

Follow Jesus, and He will walk with you—and you will never be alone again.

LIVE and have HOPE, for JESUS is the DOOR OF HOPE.

Father, no matter what problems those who are depressed/discouraged are dealing with, I pray that you help them to find reasons to keep living. Give them hope. Encourage them. Be the lifter of their head/countenance. As they reach out to You for help, minister to them. Love on them. Show them who they can go to that can be trusted with their heart to talk things through, such as a friend, teacher, family member, church member, counselor, a help line. Whatever they need Lord, give it to them I pray. In Jesus' name, amen.

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By calling or texting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline '988' you’ll be connected to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area - anytime 24/7 or go to their website at http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

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associated AFTA blogs: Don't Self-Harm  You're Worth More  Do You Hate Yourself?



 

Life Can Be Really Hard Sometimes

I will exalt you, Lord, for You rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O Lord. You kept me from falling into the pit of death. Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones. Praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:1-5

I know it’s hard to see past the pain, but PLEASE don’t hurt yourself. Talk to Jesus, a friend, a parent, a pastor, a teacher or call 1-800-273-TALK.

You ARE worth it. Regardless of how heavy life gets. Tomorrow just might be the day of your turnaround.

Father, help us to call out to You when we're in need. Divinely give us what we need or work through Your people to help us. Put people in our path who care. Give us hope to continue on. May we keep on keeping on. In Jesus' name, amen.


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Related blog entries of mine:

Has Today Been a Hard Day?
Don't Self Harm
Encourage Yourself in the Lord

Don't Self-Harm

I waited and waited and waited for God. At last He looked; finally He listened. He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud.  He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. Psalm 40:1-3
 

DON'T hurt yourself in any way ... for any reason ... that's NOT the answer.

Being a Christian or committing yourself to someone doesn't give a person the right to treat you like a doormat. You don't owe that person anything. Commitment and relationships take TWO people working together.

You're a person with feelings. You count. And you are somebody. You're just as important as the person you're with. You deserve to have a good life and be happy.

STOP searching for ways to die, and START searching for ways to fight to live. Ending your life WOULD NOT be a good witness to those around you, DON'T do it. LIVE I say, LIVE in the name of Jesus.

No matter what problems you are struggling with, hurting yourself isn't the answer - JESUS CARES - call on Him.

God's NOT going to give up on us and there ISN’T so much bad that we've done in our past that He can’t forgive us, He CAN and He WILL. He cares for you and loves you, whether you are a Christian or not, whether you're male or female, whether you're gay or straight, whether you're black or white ... He simply LOVES YOU.

People can't always give us what we need, they can't always be who we need them to be ... BUT GOD. People aren't always equipped with love and care to give out, 'cause they never had it themselves.

Don’t you give up, honey. It may not always feel like it, but YOUR life matters. Don’t become a statistic … stats show that 3,000 people A DAY commit suicide and approximately 20% of young adults self-injure/self-mutilation or starve themselves to the point of anorexia :-( 

It's all about what YOU think about YOURSELF ... you ARE loved and you ARE special, regardless of what people say or how you're treated and those voices in your head that say no one cares and no one would miss you are LIES, stop listening to 'em. 

You matter to God. Take time out for yourself if you need to. Maybe let some things go. Things can wait. You MUST survive.

DON'T HURT YOURSELF ... put the knife, scissors, blade, pills, gun, etc DOWN. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT driving yourself into a tree or driving straight on a curve to end it all. DON'T starve yourself, thinking you have to be skin and bones to be attractive, because you don't ... you're beautiful just the way you are. Any emotional 'high' or release from harming yourself is only TEMPORARY. If you actually ended your life it would hurt a lot of people, whether you believe that to be true or not, including jeopardizing your own soul. Ask God to help you find others ways to release the emotions, feelings, anger, etc that you may be feeling ... including talking to someone you can trust to talking to God and laying it all at His feet. Whether other people understand you or love you or not, JESUS CHRIST does. There's no pit so deep that He can't reach in and lift you out.

JESUS IS THE ANSWER, to whatever you're going through and whatever you're feeling. Ignore thoughts of shame and embarrassment. Reach out to Him. Go to church. Call a neighbor. Call a friend. Send a text, tweet, or facebook it. Call a helpline (like the number in the above picture). Just REACH OUT ... and LIVE.

Father, touch Your people. Take away the urge to self-harm. Take away any 'charge' that might be received from it. Help us to relinquish that need for controlling our self since we can't control others or our life and give complete and total control to You. Quieten the voices of the enemy that tell us to do things to ourselves that will hurt us. Give us the hope, will and determination to live. You came to give us a full life. Lift the depression. Give wisdom regarding relationships. Give peace. Lift burdens. Remove the shame and feelings of unworthiness. Lord, show Yourself strong where we are weak, mighty where we are lacking. Meet the deep needs of our hearts, our Father and enable us to get through the difficulties we're facing by Your grace. Put godly people in our lives that we can talk to. Thanks for being our Friend and we can ALWAYS trust You. In Jesus' name, amen.







see also:  National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK
                Suicidal Teens: Teen Depression and Teen Suicide
                Self-Injury Hotline 1-800-DONTCUT
                Do You Know Jesus?
                AFTA Blog - Do You Hate Yourself?
                AFTA Blog - Contemplating Suicide?
                AFTA Blog - Prescription for Depression
                AFTA Blog - You're Worth So Much More Than That
                AFTA Blog - Encourage Yourself in the Lord
                AFTA Blog - God HATES Abuse
                AFTA Blog - Don't Look Back, Enough is Enough!
               

Contemplating Suicide?

'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' Jeremiah 29:11 

Contemplating suicide? DON'T do it. Instead, call on Jesus and seek help at 1-800-273-TALK or go to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's website.

God loves you - whether you believe it or not - and He DOESN'T want you to end your life. No matter how hard life gets, know that with God there is hope - eternal hope - in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

NOTHING will be ever able to separate us from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:39).

Cover your mind and thoughts with the Blood of Jesus. Cast down thoughts of suicide. Don't listen to or entertain the voice of the enemy anymore. When a thought of suicide comes to you, speak out loud … ask the Lord for a scripture or you can use the above Jeremiah 29:11 one or use Psalm 118:17 – I will not die but live, and declare the works of the Lord.

You are worth so much more than that. Start seeing yourself as your heavenly Father sees you. You are special. You are loved. You are accepted by God. You don't have to be perfect (you can't be anyway) or try through works to earn His love. His loving, unfailing grace and mercy will carry you.

Put your faith and hope in Christ and His love for you, for you are never alone if you know Him.

Go ahead, ask Jesus for help, for He answers.

Prayer: Father, I pray that You renew our hope in You. Give us peace, heal our hearts, give us a reason to want to live. Strengthen us Lord God, according to Your Word. In Jesus' name, amen.

If you would like to pray a prayer of salvation surrendering your life to Jesus go here: Do You Know Jesus?

See related post: Prescription for Depression

Prescription for Depression

As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before Him? Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying 'Where is this God of yours?' My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshippers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration! Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again - my Savior and my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember You - even from Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar. I hear the tumult of the raging seas as Your waves and surging tides sweep over me. But each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing His songs, praying to God who gives me life. 'O God my Rock,' I cry, 'Why have You forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?' Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, 'Where is this God of yours?' Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again - my Savior and my God! Psalm 42

Life can be hard on us and when things don't happen the way we want them to or expect them to, we can get very disappointed. As a result of the disappointment, we get discouraged. Left unchecked, that discouragement turns into depression, which is anger turned inward.

The cure for depression is a prescription plan that the Lord gave me based on the Psalm above:

Pill 1 - hope in God, not man

Pill 2 - remember what God's done previously for you

Pill 3 - praise Him

Pill 4 - encourage yourself

Following this prescription, we can put depression in it's place, often before it even begins. If you are battling with life's experiences and find yourself in a state of depression, odds are you are an encourager. For the enemy throws the opposite of what we are at us.

It's time we start encouraging ourselves like we do others. We all need to be uplifted sometimes.

Prayer: You are the lifter of our heads, Lord (Ps 3:3), so I pray that You help us, Father, to put on the garment of praise for the spirit of mourning and heaviness (Is 61:3), to arise from the depression and prostration that circumstances have kept us - help us to rise to a new life (Is 60:1) and I pray that You rejoice over us with Your joy, oh Lord (Zeph 3:17). Thank You that weeping only remains for a night - joy does come in the morning (Ps 30:5). Help us to praise You, Lord, whether we feel like it or not - for You are always worthy of our praise. In Jesus' name, Amen.


Need someone to talk to?  National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Do You Hate Yourself?

If we don't forgive - God does this: Matthew 6:14,15 - For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.

If we don't forgive - the enemy does this: 2 Corinthians 2:10,11 - If you forgive someone, I will also forgive them. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we know very well what his plans are.

We are commanded in the Word to love one another, but I ask you, do you love yourself, or do you hate yourself?

When I first got saved, the Lord brought me through deliverance of many things. When He started walking me through forgiveness, I heard a sermon on it. Like I try to do with all sermons, I wanted to apply it to myself. So I asked the Lord who I needed to forgive.

I wasn't expecting the answer I got, 'yourself'. Ok. Had never even heard of that before. So many don't know that we need to forgive ourselves. But as the Holy Spirit started ministering to me, I realized that I hated myself. So how in the world could I forgive myself? I had hated myself so much and what I had become that I didn't even clean the mirrors in my house, for I couldn't stand to look at myself. I sure couldn't look in my eyes, 'cause they are the windows to the soul. And it just wasn't very pretty what I'd see.

After the Lord revealed to me that I needed to forgive myself, I reluctantly chose to, by an act of my free will (not my feelings, because I didn't want to) to forgive myself. The Lord then led me to stand in His Presence for a minute to actually receive that forgiveness. I felt such a weight lift from off my shoulders, I couldn't believe it. Coming to Him and asking for forgiveness set me free. Period.

All these years I've subconsciously been trying to punish myself by hating myself and holding on to the guilt. I was trying to make up for the work that Jesus had already done at the Cross for me. That work was enough, Jesus didn't need my help. Jesus became the guilt offering for me, so I don't have to carry around all that guilt and condemnation for all my sins and wrong choices that I've made in life. Since Jesus did all the work for me at the Cross, who am I to say I can't forgive myself?

The Word actually says that we are loosed to the tormentors when we don't forgive (see Matthew 18:21-35). I've felt that torment and at times through my spritual eyes could see it. It's scary. And the enemy has plans to use us not forgiving ourselves to cause us harm and all sorts of pain and anguish. Some cut themselves. Some commit suicide. Some abuse others. All trying to relieve the feelings of torment from within.

We even wear masks to make us look different to people, thus more acceptable. Sometimes we wear too much makeup, or hang our hair over our eyes, or pretend to be something that we're not, all because we're hoping that people don't see what we believe to be the ugly inside if they could really see us/knew us.

We forgive others every day. Can we not do the same for ourselves? Isn't it time we forgive ourselves, and let ourselves off the hook? For whom the Son sets free, is free indeed!

Prayer: Help us, Lord to see ourselves as You see us. We choose to lay down our anger, bitterness, resentment, self-hatred, guilt, condemnation, and shame for ourselves and wear the robe of righteousness that you have provided for us when we give our life to You. We choose to forgive ourselves. I love You, Lord. And thank You for helping me to be able to face myself, live with myself, and love myself in a healthy way, 'cause it's been a long time coming. For once in my life, I want to live.