For Christians Considering Suicide

I’ve been trying to process Pastor Jarrid’s passing since I heard of it. I’m always searching for biblical context to navigate through these kind of things because sometimes you think you know the answer and other times, you simply cannot come up with anything. 

I immediately was drawn to Job. Its so layered and I cannot imagine experiencing all the Lord allowed him to. Possibly the most depressed, anxious, lonely season of his life followed him losing just about everything including his mind. This man was burdened to the point where he cursed the day he was born. And honestly, given all he lost, he had reason to. 

God lets him be tested by the enemy. He watches him experience the deepest anguish. He then lets him mourn. He lets him become weary and worn out. He lets him complain and groan and wonder. 

And He is silent. 

Then, He speaks. And boy, does He talk bad! Lol. He lets Job know who He is, His sovereignty. He speaks with authority and bass. Until Job gets it, until his pain is assuaged with reverence. 

Here’s what I want to say: 
Checking on your strong friend will not save them. 
Going to church will not save them.
Reading the Bible will not save them. 
Having accountability will not save them. 
A spouse or a connect group or kids or leading a ministry or therapy will not save them. These are tools but they mean nothing without real relationship. 
Jesus saves through a love relationship with Him, and when treasured, when reverenced, it changes you. The nuances of being deeply convicted with the task you’ve been given to glorify Him in your own way, THAT is what this life is about. Battling through, pushing through, finishing your course. Knowing that God is empathetic, that He’s ever-present, that He is enough. No one can know that for you. You have to know it for yourself. 

FEAR NOT. There is joy and fruit to be had. In this life, and in the one to come. Please don’t snuff your life out before you have the chance to truly savor it. Enjoy God. He is meant to be enjoyed. So it’s easier to obey, so it’s easier to serve, so it’s easier to love. 

I am grieved deeply for Jarrid, his family, his congregation. Grieved that the enemy convinces us to tear pages from the story that God has written for us. Grieved that as a church, we don’t talk enough about deliverance, about practically eradicating real demons. That we don’t talk enough about all of the little in-betweens in life, the things that don’t fit cutely in a 30 minute YouTube sermon. But I will speak. As a member of the body and say, your thoughts and emotions will never be greater than God. And a life surrendered, is hyper- aware of that fact. 

Let this be a wake up call to us all. To cover one another constantly, especially those in leadership. Let us pledge to take all that belongs to us by force. Our hearts, our sanity, our health, our spiritual acuity, our lives. 

Best, 
Mo