Where True Hope is Found

My aunt took her own life last Sunday while my uncle was at church. She said she didn't feel well, so he left the house believing he would return to her warmth and humor after hearing the Word of God. But his expectation was not realized. Instead, his world was shattered by her lifeless body...strangled in solitary silence.

I don't understand her reasons for choosing to end her life. Was not aware of her pain and despair and lack of hope for a brighter tomorrow. How I wish I had known. Wish I could have listened and encouraged and prayed over her, confident that the ONLY ONE who can fill us with hope and joy would see her empty lonely heart and would enter with such power and peace that she would be comforted and confident that she was created by God with a specific purpose she had yet to fulfill. 

Many of us have known the depths of depression. Spent days on end in darkness and oppression, desperate for someone to save us. 

The truth is, ONLY ONE can save us, and His name is Jesus Christ. Without the hope of heaven, the trust believers have in His ability to perform miracles, to heal, to comfort, to guide through the Holy Spirit; we would have nothing to cling to, to believe, to hope for.

If you don't have a relationship with Jesus, I pray you'll seek to know Him. Ask Him to make Himself known to you. He is listening for your voice, desiring to fill your heart with His love.

Please don't do what my aunt did, and my uncle (her brother) before her. Don't despair. Cry out to God. Call a friend. Talk with a counselor. Pray. Jesus has all the hope you need in His hand, and He is ready to pour it onto your hurting heart.

"Be still and know that (He) is God." (Psalm 46:10 NIV)