Youth Suicide

Coming Home from the last youth conference in California, I had no idea I would be hearing such sad news. After an uplifting and spiritual weekend, I come home to find out one of my best childhood friends had taken his life a matter of hours before. I still remember hearing the news and just sitting in complete disbelief. Dumb and speechless, I sat in my room and found myself asking God the same question we always do when we reach our most desperate times: Why? Tears could only express the anguish I felt inside. I began to think of the tragedies of death in scripture and how fragile we really are. The fact is that we are in no way immune to the ways of the flesh or the world.

My friend was a believer in God who had God-fearing parents and an enormous support group of Christadelphian young people; and yet, even in a town of literally hundreds of Christadelphians (in Adelaide, South Australia), he felt he was up against so much he had to take his own life before even reaching the waters of baptism.

Anyone who has experienced tragic loss will relate to my feeling of being unable to explain why bad things happen to such good people who know and love God. I would like to pass on some discoveries I made in scripture which helped me come to terms with such a hard question. We must be mindful that in our community the trials of the flesh are always present, and that we are in no way immune from them. Also, I believe with this awareness we can better help each other battle the sickness of sin and avert any tragedies in our brotherhood.

Suicide in the Bible

Suicide, or taking one’s own life, like many ailments of the flesh can be found in some of the most unlikely places. Such is the case today in our own lives. In I Kings 19:4, we read Elijah requested of God that he might die, saying “It is enough; now, 0 Lord, take away my life.” You can also read in Jonah 4:3,8: ” 0 Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live…Jonah wished for himself to die.”

Two separate prophets of God found themselves in such dire straits of circumstance that they wished to die! They both honestly felt there was no point in continuing on. The reality for us is that suicide isn’t one of those unmentionable nastier that we don’t have to deal with. Suicide and mind sickness are very real for many people and we shouldn’t be ignorant that we believe it can’t affect someone we know and see on Sundays.

I never in my wildest dreams would have suspected my friend was capable of such action, just as I would never have remembered Elijah or Jonah for their moments of despair. Even in a God-fearing environment the pressures and problems of the world will always be present in our flesh.

Giving help

In I Kings 19, an angel appeared to Elijah to offer him food, drink and comfort. In scripture, an angel can be any messenger from God. We, too, can be angels for one another without even knowing it. We can, in essence, be that comforter for our friend or brother/sister in need. We may not know what to say or do, but if we listen with the compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ in mind, we will already be making a difference.

More importantly, we must seek to offer our comfort to those we suspect may need it even if they don’t ask for it. Do not wait until it may be too late, for often just your physical presence is more than enough to avert a tragedy.

Elijah found out in I Kings 19 that he is not alone. In fact, God told him that 7,000 others who fear God are left in Israel! Later God sent Elisha (whose name means “God is salvation”) to minister and strengthen Elijah (v. 19). In the end we are never alone, God is always with us and manifested in every one of us. Use that part of God inside you to strengthen your friends in need, be a comforter and messenger to your friends in the truth always. We cannot make it as scattered lights walking our own paths; we must pull together in our walk to the kingdom. You never know when your friend may need you the most.

Saved by hope

As a side note, Romans 8:24 explains that we are all saved by hope. In the end, there is nothing we can do to right all the wrongs in ourselves, our families or the world around us. Suicide is obviously a short-term escape from these problems, but with devastating repercussions, instead, take courage in an everlasting solution! Take courage in our Lord Jesus Christ who overcame all things through a perfect life and sacrifice, to give us a real hope of salvation.

One thing we can all do for those around us is to pray. In James 5:15 we read: “The prayer of faith shall save the sick (physically or mentally) and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” Jude 22 reads: “And of some having compassion, making a difference.”

We don’t know

In the end, only God knows the true circumstances surrounding suicide and the weaknesses of our mind. Maybe my friend was being saved from something in the future that I will have to face without him. The fact is that God, as explained in Psalm 103, is: “merciful, gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy…he hath not dealt with us after our sins (if this were the case we would have no hope)…like a father pitieth his children, so he takes pity on us…he knoweth our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”

We must pray for the salvation of those who are mentally sick, or emotionally disturbed and deterred so much by life that they are ashamed to come on Sunday, or worse yet, even to live. God’s mercy can work mightily through us all, so we must amplify this manifestation to strengthen each other. That way we can leave suicide and other short-term answers the flesh provides where they should stay, as a fleeting thought that is merely an anthill in the path toward the wonders awaiting us in the kingdom.

As much as it hurts at times I must accept God’s will. He knew my friend’s mindset and circumstances better than anyone close to him. After all, as in Isaiah 40:28, “There is no searching of his understanding.”

Yet we as young people can be more alert to realize who of our friends, brothers, and sisters might need genuine help and comfort. With a Christ-like attitude we must accept that with flesh comes such unspeakable things and we must try to overcome them together so that nobody actually reaches such a tragic point. We all struggle with the reality of flesh and blood, so there must be no limit to our encouragement for one another even as God’s mercy is toward us. We can make a difference and we must never cease to pray for those who are experiencing real trouble, or for those who have fallen asleep or taken their own lives, for in the end the mercies of our God are all we can cling to for salvation, and I wish no less for my friends.