Pride is an independent spirit seeking to show that we can take care of ourselves. All complaining has its roots in pride. Pride makes us see everyone’s fault but our own.
Why are so many young people, and entire families, taking their own lives while so many are doing everything in their power to save theirs? Believe it or not both can be identified in and attributed to a lack of knowledge of who the Giver and Author of life is. Failure to recognize that we don’t own ourselves puts us in a position of playing God, and falsely believing that we’re in control. We now live in a godless culture. A culture of death. Tormented souls that have found no satisfaction in their vices. And because all they have known is the survival of the fittest, when life’s bottom falls out, they have no safe place to land. A generation that doesn’t know God, is a generation of chaos, anger, helplessness and hopelessness. I’m sad to admit that the Church of Jesus Christ has failed at demonstrating to the world that there’s a better way. Life is made up of choices, but there must also be clearly defined options.
Let’s address suicide for a moment. Someone once said that, “ Suicide is not the fear of death, it is the fear of life.” But may I also add that you can have existence and not have life. There are a lot of people who are currently existing, they’re walking around, functioning very well on the surface, but they are joyless and hopeless. They have no purpose, goals or aspirations for a better life. They believe where they are is where they’ll die. They can’t see themselves better than the supposed lot they have been given. They live by the opinions of others. They see no reason to continue on. Everything is dark and bleak. But is it really? A life void of faith in Jesus Christ is a life without biblical hope. As long as Christians remain in our bubble, as long as we remain segregated, we’re useless and ineffective to bring about real changes. If “Christians” are taking their own lives, what is the onlooking world supposed to do?
Then we have the other group. They wouldn’t dream of taking their own life because they love it too much. They’ll do whatever it takes to preserve it. They’re also afraid of living, but it's the reverse psychology of dying, these are the ones who exist. They tell themselves that they’re in control of how long they’ll live by doing certain things. Diet, exercise, vitamins, positive attitude, having money to meet every material need, getting regular health checks, they’re the masters of their own fate. They have it all; they really believe they control how they die. They’re the masters of their own destiny. It’s the uncertainty of life that makes one take their life and the other doing everything to preserve their life. Both mindsets keep them fearful and anxious.
Jesus taught these principles and the sooner we adhere to His Word the longer we will actually live.
““The person who loves his life and pampers himself will miss true life! But the one who detaches his life from this world and abandons himself to Me, will find true life and enjoy it forever!”
John 12:25 TPT
“For what use is it to gain all the wealth and power of this world, with everything it could offer you, at the cost of your own life? And what could be more valuable to you than your own soul?”
Mark 8:36-37 TPT
“All who are obsessed with being secure in life will lose it all—including their lives. But those who let go of their lives and surrender them to Me will discover true life.”
Luke 17:33 TPT
Throughout this pandemic I’ve asked the question: What are we afraid of? I’ve mainly posed it to people who claim to know the Lord Jesus Christ. The response has been the same: The fear of dying. But why? Death should neither surprise or frighten us. I had someone who had received both vaccines tell me they didn’t want to die before their time. I laughed because the response was ludicrous. No one knows when their time is! Only God knows that. The person who takes their life prematurely had that appointment with death. Like Judas, God already knew their end. He knew what they would do with or without intervention. His will for all of us, the suicidal and the preserver, is the offering of free, qualitative life. A life filled with hope and light. True security.
When our lives are placed securely in the hands of the One who holds all life, suicide or self preservation is never an option. Martin Luther the theologian once said “ I have held many things in my hands, and have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.” We will never lose our lives if we place them in His capable hands. We will never take our life if we place it in His hands. Jesus said this about the life He offers us.
“I Am the Gateway. To enter through Me is to experience life, freedom, and satisfaction. A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect —life in its fullness until you overflow!”
John 10:9-10 TPT
To build your life independently of the Life Giver is death. You may try to keep it here but it’s a falsity built on a pipe dream. It’s smoke and mirrors. It’s a lie as old as time. Satan sold that falsehood to Eve and he’s still peddling it today. See Genesis 3. It’s deception of the highest order. We can no more save our lives or take it. We all have an appointment with the Author of life. To die physically is to live spiritually, whether saved or unsaved. Wouldn’t it be better to live now in Jesus and live continuously when we leave this earth? Don’t believe the enemy’s lies anymore! You were born for more than what this natural life offers. No matter what you’re facing right now, Jesus has died to give you much more, He has a future and a hope planned for you before you were formed in your mother’s womb. See Jeremiah 29:11-12. But you won’t find it in a wish, or self preservation. It’s found only in accepting His offer to go from spiritual darkness into His marvelous light.
Won’t you take His hand? There’s help for whatever you’re going through. Don’t end your life, give it to Him. Don’t try to save your life, give it to Him. He has promised never to leave you or forsake you. Hebrews 13:6. Whatever you need He’s got it. We were never meant to figure life out on our own. See Proverbs 3:5-6. Our sufficiency is of Him. 2 Corinthians 3:5. We are complete in Him. Colossians 2:10. Desperation and anxiety is borne out by us trying to live without breath, His breath. Just like a fish cannot survive without water, neither can we experience all life has to offer without Jesus Christ. We merely exist. To truly live, we must abandon all of ourselves to Him. This is a faithful time tested verse.
“And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In Him we live and move and have our being’;
Acts 17:26-28A ESV
Whether we believe or not that we have our existence in Him doesn’t mean it isn’t so. He’s so merciful and kind that He allows us to choose to surrender to Him. Here’s your opportunity to do something different with your life. You have nothing to lose but eternal life to gain. See His hands extended, hear Him whisper, ‘child, take my hand, receive my love and forgiveness, enter into My rest, welcome home.’
“God has a purpose for your life but it doesn’t end here. God offers you an opportunity beyond your lifetime.”- Rick Warren
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
July 20, 2021
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