I don’t understand why this happened,
and I can’t wrap my head around this new “now.”
But God, I trust You.
I know You are my help even in this season.
Series Focus: “Resurrecting Hope in the Midst of Life’s Storms”
Devastating. Confusing. Paralyzing. The news hits a brick wall in your soul as your mind grapples for some measure of reasoning and understanding. But none exists. The loss, the grief, the sorrow overtakes everything within you. The information can’t even be processed…
Suicide leaves the survivors in an overwhelming state of debilitating heartbreak.
What led to it is often known – or discovered. Yet, it provides no peace. Depression, illness (mental and/or physical), loneliness, bullying, failure, seemingly unrecoverable mistakes, ensuing ruin and devastation… Whatever the root, the screaming loss experienced by those left behind still is inconsolable.
The stages of grief spin on a constant rewind reel, traveling at mach speed through every moment of the first several weeks, months, or longer. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance repeat over and over again through the years as pictures, sounds, smells, words, memories trigger the incessant pain again.
Where is the hope in this dark place? Where is the peace in this storm? Will the brokenness ever heal? The emptiness ever be filled? The hurt ever go away? … The future will never be as imagined or projected. There is a new “now,” tragically without this person in any of the tomorrows. How does one “recover” from that?
There is only one way. Jesus. He is the Mender of our souls and the Healer of our hearts. He can do what no person could ever do. He brings light to the darkness, peace to the storm, comfort to the hurting, healing to the sick, dancing to the mourning, answers to the confused, the way to the lost, wholeness to the broken, deliverance to the tormented, restoration to the beaten-down, strength to the weak, life to the weary. His grace is sufficient. His ways are perfect. His mercy, enduring. His love, sustaining.
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is the answer. When anger explodes, sorrow overwhelms, depression immobilizes, numbness desensitizes, grief overtakes, and loss rips through heart and soul – God is with us to help us.
Jesus said, in His Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,” and in Matthew 28:20, Jesus declares that He is with us always. We are never alone. God said, as recorded in Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
God is always with us. Not only that, we are not alone in our suffering. David fills the Psalms with encouragement to us when we are hurting:
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)
From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (Psalm 61:1-2)
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)
Jesus is our peace. Ultimately, living – after enduring such loss – can only come from knowing Him, believing His words, trusting His character, and allowing Him to heal our hearts. Even so, there still will be triggers that blow up those storms from time to time – unexpectedly – days, months, and years later. But knowing He is with us to help us, to comfort us, to strengthen us, to heal us – those storms will pass, and our mourning will again turn to joy – as we rest in His perfect love. Trust Him. He will see us through and strengthen us as we go.
Holding Fast to Hope,
Maryann
Scripture References: John 8:12, 10:10, 14:6, 16:33; Exodus 15:26; Lamentations 5:15; Isaiah 40:29, 41:10; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 12:9; Matthew 5:4, 28:20; Psalm 23:4, 34:18, 46:1, 61:1-2, 73:26; 147:3.
If you are considering suicide, please seek help now. Call 1-800-273-8255, the national hotline, go to a hospital, call 911, alert someone in your home, apartment, or workplace, or wherever you are, and get help.
National Hopeline Network: 1-800-SUICIDE
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK