While their final judgment is of course in God’s hands (as is true for all of us), beneath the question of mental illness it seems to me is the obvious reality that those who destroy themselves are not listening to the Holy Spirit but are listening to Satan, the only one who desires their destruction. In one town I formerly pastored in, a pastor-friend of mine, who also worked as a mental health counselor, was driving in from out of town one day. As he entered town, out of nowhere, he began having intense suicidal thoughts, which he had never had before in his life. As a Pentecostal believer, he struggled with these thoughts for a few seconds, being absolutely bewildered by them, as he had not even been depressed when they came to his mind. The Holy Spirit then reminded him to rebuke the evil spirits that were tempting and tormenting him, and the hopeless, suicidal thoughts instantly vanished. Over the next several days, in a town of about 25,000, four suicides occurred, more than occurred over a year’s time for a town that size on average in that time period.
I do not pretend to understand the vast complexities surrounding death by suicide, particularly when it happens to someone who has been a pastor or an active church member. Furthermore I have never been in the camp of those who believe suicide is an automatic ticket to Hell, preferring to leave that up to the Almighty.When a person commits suicide it should elicit from us an outpouring of deep sympathy and love for that person as well as their family members left to deal with the devastation. It is not the time to put on our hat of judgment and condemnation. The fact that any person could reach the point of absolute hopelessness should grieve our hearts, especially if we knew that person. I remain eternally grateful for the COG pastor in Tennessee that I randomly called at one in the morning some 30 years ago when I had reached my own end. In my utter despair and in a way I will never understand this side of glory, God guided me to call a random number of a church secretary who then took my number and called her pastor at one in the morning. That man gave me an hour of his precious time to speak love into my tortured soul, bringing me back from a place too dark to speak of________________“Hell will be filled with people that didn’t cuss, didn’t drink, and may even have been baptized. Why? Because none of those things makes someone a Christian.”
I appreciate the comment FL. I have thought of suicide at times, I always thought everyone did. I used to plan mine to be an accident so the family would not know and the insurance would be no problem. Presently I am at a low point but nothing near despair. Life deals tough blows, even to successful people. I am always lost and confused to understand someone famous and successful i,e, Robin Williams.Anyway I’m rambling… But thanks again have a blessed Sunday…. We are wet here in Wildwood for now. ________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/
This is really sad. What can we do to identify and to help people like that before they get to that stage?Of course, I do not think anyone should intentionally kill himself or herself unless it’s one of those heroic type situations, jumping in front of the bullet to block your wife or the president or something like that.
While their final judgment is of course in God’s hands (as is true for all of us), beneath the question of mental illness it seems to me is the obvious reality that those who destroy themselves are not listening to the Holy Spirit but are listening to Satan, the only one who desires their destruction. In one town I formerly pastored in, a pastor-friend of mine, who also worked as a mental health counselor, was driving in from out of town one day. As he entered town, out of nowhere, he began having intense suicidal thoughts, which he had never had before in his life. As a Pentecostal believer, he struggled with these thoughts for a few seconds, being absolutely bewildered by them, as he had not even been depressed when they came to his mind. The Holy Spirit then reminded him to rebuke the evil spirits that were tempting and tormenting him, and the hopeless, suicidal thoughts instantly vanished. Over the next several days, in a town of about 25,000, four suicides occurred, more than occurred over a year’s time for a town that size on average in that time period.
I do not pretend to understand the vast complexities surrounding death by suicide, particularly when it happens to someone who has been a pastor or an active church member. Furthermore I have never been in the camp of those who believe suicide is an automatic ticket to Hell, preferring to leave that up to the Almighty.When a person commits suicide it should elicit from us an outpouring of deep sympathy and love for that person as well as their family members left to deal with the devastation. It is not the time to put on our hat of judgment and condemnation. The fact that any person could reach the point of absolute hopelessness should grieve our hearts, especially if we knew that person. I remain eternally grateful for the COG pastor in Tennessee that I randomly called at one in the morning some 30 years ago when I had reached my own end. In my utter despair and in a way I will never understand this side of glory, God guided me to call a random number of a church secretary who then took my number and called her pastor at one in the morning. That man gave me an hour of his precious time to speak love into my tortured soul, bringing me back from a place too dark to speak of________________“Hell will be filled with people that didn’t cuss, didn’t drink, and may even have been baptized. Why? Because none of those things makes someone a Christian.”
I appreciate the comment FL. I have thought of suicide at times, I always thought everyone did. I used to plan mine to be an accident so the family would not know and the insurance would be no problem. Presently I am at a low point but nothing near despair. Life deals tough blows, even to successful people. I am always lost and confused to understand someone famous and successful i,e, Robin Williams.Anyway I’m rambling… But thanks again have a blessed Sunday…. We are wet here in Wildwood for now. ________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/
This is really sad. What can we do to identify and to help people like that before they get to that stage?Of course, I do not think anyone should intentionally kill himself or herself unless it’s one of those heroic type situations, jumping in front of the bullet to block your wife or the president or something like that.