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Friday, December 18, 2009

Things Will Get Better

I don't understand suicide. I don't understand why people would want a permanent solution to a temporary problem. I guess they don't believe the problem is temporary.

Maybe they think they have done something that they can't be forgiven for. Maybe they have hurt someone or disappointed someone so severely and have been caught. They know that this person or persons will never be able to look at them the same. They believe that forgiveness is an emotional release given for someone else. They see it as a human reaction rather than a divine gift. They can't see that the image of God is printed on us so that we can give forgiveness as He forgives. They don't know that forgiveness is a miracle that sometimes causes us to draw deeply from God to forgive and sometimes causes us to draw deeply from Him to know we are forgiven.

Maybe they have lost something that they believe they can't live without. Maybe someone has died that they loved. Maybe it was a child. Maybe the girls or boys of their dreams have rejected them and told them the fateful, "Let's be friends, okay?" They believe the pain in their hearts is just too great to bear. They don't know that God has a pain for them when they hurt. They don't know that He weeps with them. He does so because He hurts when they hurt. They don't know that they are never alone. They don't know that He gives all the strength they need to pick up the pieces and begin again.

Maybe they see their lives as a series of disappointments. They have failed at so many things so many times that they believe that they are losers. They might think that losers don't have any right to live. They might even think the world would be better off without them. They don't know that each person on this earth has a God-given purpose. They don't know that they matter immeasurably to God. They don't know that He wants them to continue on and find that purpose. They don't know that the reason they don't feel fulfilled is because they have not seen His purpose in their lives yet.

Maybe they believe that their current circumstances are their permanent circumstances. They have forgotten the good times they have seen in their lives. They have forgotten that there were any good times. They have pulled their present problems so closely to their faces that they can't see anything else.

I know that God has plans for each and every one of us. I know that God allows us to go through some terrible times on this earth. I don't believe He causes these bad times but I know He could have stopped them and has chosen not to. I know that He is always working for us. I know that He is in every yesterday, today and tomorrow. I know He wants good for us. I know He is bringing that good about.

Sometimes circumstances are terrible. Sometimes you done something that you believe you will never be forgiven for. Sometimes you can't see past your problems. The good times are hidden like the darkness at the end of a flashlight beam. There is more there; you just can't see it yet.

This will pass. God will cause things to get better. The economy will not always be like it is today. You will not always be without a job. You can find another boyfriend or girlfriend. God may provide another spouse for you. You can be forgiven by others because God is ready to forgive you today. However bad things are, the will pass. Things will get better.

Psalm 116:5-6 (ESV)
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
The LORD preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.

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