September 21, 2011

When We Lose Our Way


I participate in a few Bible studies throughout the year and a group I am currently in had a distressing experience recently.  A young woman amongst us shared that she is contemplating suicide.  She went ahead to explain that she has already made plans for her body in the event of her death and has been giving and selling away most of her possessions.

There are several other details that she shared but most distressing is that she had experienced nervous breakdowns in the past and had even spent time in a psychiatric institution because she attempted suicide in the past. She is a troubled soul.

When speaking to her a bit more we learned that she believes God wants her dead.  That is a lie from the pit of hell and we shared scripture with her and prayed with her.  But more than that I went ahead and prodded a bit, wanting to understand why she believes God wants her dead.  She explained that she believes God is a vengeful and wrathful God.  She believes that he punishes sin.  And I agreed with her that, yes, he does not want his children to sin.  But I also felt compelled to clarify to her that as Christians who believe that Jesus Christ has died for our sins, we are no longer under the old law.

She didn't understand what I meant.  So I explained that when Jesus Christ died on the cross it not only allowed anyone to freely be saved from God's wrath but it also cancelled out the way God use to relate to humans.  It is no longer necessary to make sacrifices on alters.  It is no longer necessary to confess sins to priests.  It is no longer necessary to keep countless rules and regulations on food, dress, or other details.

God established a new law.  Much more simple.  Believe that Jesus Christ died for you sins on the cross and allow him into your heart.  Period.  That's it.  No rules. No regulations. Just faith.

She seemed to think on these truths for a while.  Today she is on my mind.  I don't know if anything any of us said has reached her.  I pray it has.  But beyond praying and speaking to her about the Bible we have also been searching for counselors and mentors who are experienced in helping individuals with the level of depression she is experiencing.

I also believe this is spiritual warfare and all of us are feeling a bit burned out.  Its very taxing on the emotions and the mind when someone you care about loses the will to live.  So I'm sending a request to all of you readers to please pray for Emily.  I believe in prayer and I know it can move mountains.  We need a miracle.  Emily desperately needs a miracle.

May God's will be done.

" By day the Lord directs his love, by night his song is with me- 
a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God my rock, 'Why have you forgotten me? 
Why must I go around mourning, oppressed by the enemy?'

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, 
my savior and my God."

Psalm 42: 8, 9, 11

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