Suicide isn’t something that the average person wants to talk about, yet more people struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide than we realize. You would be surprised to know who may be struggling around you. It may be your co-worker, your next door neighbor, or even someone sitting on the same church pew as you. Really, no one is immune.
Life, in general, is already a struggle for many.
Enter COVID-19!
Take someone who already struggles with fear and anxiety. Then add to that a world-wide pandemic and quarantines, and you have a recipe for disaster! The Coronavirus has caused more problems than simply health issues.
Besides being a pastor, I am also a Chaplain for the Sheriff’s Office. Recently, I was told that law enforcement officers have never seen anything like what is going on with this pandemic. There has been a dramatic increase in domestic abuse cases, due to people being forced to stay in close quarters for so long. But what really surprised me to learn that there has also been a steep incline in…get this…female suicides!
Evidently, there is a sense of hopelessness that becomes so strong they feel there is no other option but to take their own lives. And what we don’t realize is that even good people can allow themselves to get to this place.
Consider King David
For instance, King David, in the Bible, battled depression and often felt a sense of hopelessness. In Psalm 143:3-4, he said, “For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.” No wonder he went on to say in (v.4), “Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.”
Maybe that sounds familiar.
Maybe you are battling depression and, like David, feel you also “dwell in darkness.” Perhaps you also feel as though your spirit is overwhelmed. If so, I have some good news. You are not alone! In fact, some of the greatest men and women in the Bible struggled with depression, and even had thoughts of taking their own lives.
If that is you, you don’t have to struggle alone. There is hope and there is help!
The Psalmist found hope. He said, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance” (Psalm 42:5).
Don’t Suffer In Silence
If you are battling depression, or thoughts of suicide, don’t suffer in silence. Please talk to your pastor, or spouse, or parent. God loves you and is big enough to handle anything you can give Him. That is why 1Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
Satan wants you to focus on your pain and problems because he knows that the more you dwell on them, the bigger THEY become in your life, and the smaller GOD becomes. But I am here to tell you that, no matter what you are facing, NO PROBLEM is bigger than God!
God is bigger than COVID, God is bigger than a pandemic, and God is bigger than the burden you are carrying, too!
Pastor Mark Agan
Author of “The Deceptive Side of Suicide”
