Through Deep Waters

In Lysa TerKeurst's Therapy and Theology podcasts, they talked about the terminology of "getting over it" versus "getting through it."  Most everyone who is hit with a crisis or unexpected suffering says that they want to get over it or get back to normal.  We want so much to skip the hard part and the heavy emotions and just pretend all is well again, but it's a false hope that leads to an eventual crash (and makes getting through it that much more difficult).  God says He will be with us when we go through deep waters (Isaiah 41:10), not that He will fly us over them.  There is a valley or a hard season that we'll have to face and walk through to get to a healthy place on the other side of any major crisis.  And facing it head on is the healthiest thing we can do.  This was a helpful concept and clear mental image for me, so I took a minute to actually draw the picture:

(*That whole 6-episode series was good and helpful, and if you're interested, you can go back into the archives and listen to them on the Proverbs 31 Podcast, or you can watch them on YouTube HERE!)

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On another deeper subject, this is Suicide Prevention Month.  This little graphic made so much sense to me, and I've been thinking about it a lot...

The trifecta of negative thoughts that lead to suicidal desires:

1. I am alone.
2. I am a burden.
3. Things will never get better.

That rings so true - these are the lies Satan uses to push people toward suicide.  It has been true in my own life in the past and in the lives of several others I know who have struggled with those thoughts.  

1)  Feeling lonely and misunderstood hits hardest when you are going through physical or emotional suffering you don't believe anyone around you can relate to, OR when you have been deeply disappointed or rejected/abandoned by someone you loved or idolized.  The truth, of course, is that no matter how many people hurt us, we are never truly alone.  God is always with us and will never forsake us, and He knows our hearts in a way no one else can.  We can turn to Him in any season of life, now and forever. 

2)  People may feel like they are a burden when they need constant physical help and care OR when they worry that the sadness and darkness they feel inside is seeping out of them and draining the life out of everyone around them.  (Which is sometimes confirmed by those closest to them.)  In reality, people talk a lot about being there for us, but actions speak louder than words and very few live up to their promises.  We cannot entrust ourselves and our hearts to the care of other people (John 2:23-25).  So again, we should be thankful for those who will walk with us and pray for us, but the best answer we have is found in God Himself.  He is the only one that we can never exhaust and the only one who always keeps His promises to walk with us!

3)  The last one is the most dangerous lie for us to believe:  Things will never get better.  Our enemy tends to hit hardest when we are most vulnerable... so when you are already feeling alone and burdensome, he will come at you hard with despair and hopelessness.  Often, this hits when someone tries to jump over the hard part rather than taking the slow and painful walk through it (see above).  The number of physically healthy young people who commit suicide because of deep relational pain is staggering.  I've heard several Christians say that they can't relate or understand, but saying that when this topic comes up is more boastful than helpful, and I am definitely not in that group.  I get it, and I am a safe person to write or talk to if ever you are struggling in that area.  Our enemy's goal is to steal, kill, and destroy, and he loves to whisper lies that bring hopelessness.  To make us feel like if we can't have ______, then life is no longer worth living.  (The blank will be different things for different people, but when you can fill that sentence in with anything but Jesus, then you are vulnerable.  When that is true and you realize that thing or person is gone, things can get really dark very quickly.)  Everything else in this world is absolutely subject to change and loss, so our security and hope have to be rooted in Christ.  I have learned to find a lot of hope in the coming kingdom, in the promise of heaven and eternal life, and I think that is vital.  Even in a season of suffering from declining health or relational loss, you can hold on to that and know that things will get better someday, even if it is not in this lifetime.  That may not sound super comforting, but it's the best hope we have to cling to in a broken world that is currently "subject to death and decay."  Hope and healing and freedom and full redemption are coming, and there is life after death that is better than our very best days here!

So Jesus is always with you, and He created you and knows your heart inside and out.  His love is merciful and unfailing and inexhaustible.  As long as you are alive, He has a purpose in mind for your life, and you are not useless or a burden to Him!  And because He is alive today, things will get much better in the end for everyone who trusts and believes in Him.  

Okay, that's all I've got for today.  I hope it's helpful to someone! ❤