Suicide, Sin, and Salvation: Is Suicide Unpardonable?Sample

3 Promises of God To Every Suffering Person

In the appendix of his classic book, The Problem of Pain, C. S. Lewis includes this note from physician R. Havard: “Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say ‘My tooth is aching’ than to say ‘My heart is broken.'”

Let’s close by claiming three promises God makes to every suffering person today.

One: You and every person you know is someone of inestimable worth.

Depression and life crises can cause us to feel that our lives are not worth living. The opposite is true. Every person on earth is someone for whom Jesus died (Romans 5:8).

In 1941, C. S. Lewis preached his famous “Weight of Glory” sermon in St. Mary’s Chapel at Oxford University. In it, he stated, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat” (his emphasis).

Lewis adds: “Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.” So are you.

Two: God loves you and wants to help.

When Elijah despaired of his life and prayed, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life” (1 Kings 19:4 ESV), God provided the physical, spiritual, and emotional sustenance he needed to go on. When Jeremiah said, “Cursed be the day I was born!” (Jeremiah 20:14), God sustained his prophet.

Scripture promises: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). Paul, who faced almost indescribable challenges (2 Corinthians 11:23–28), could proclaim, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

Jesus knows your pain. He has faced everything we face (Hebrews 4:15). He cried from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Now he is ready to help you.

However, let me repeat that one of the most important ways the Great Physician heals is through human physicians. That’s why you need to reach out to professional counselors as soon as possible. God will use them as he ministers his grace to you.

Three: You can “dwell on the heights” with God.

Paul testified that he could “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). He could do this because he lived in the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

God wants to be “the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge” (Isaiah 33:6). The person who walks with him “will dwell on the heights” (v. 16).

You can “dwell on the heights” with your Father. This is the promise, and the invitation, of God.

Will you accept it today?

Apply the lesson

• How can you communicate these truths to your local community today? Let’s praise God for the hope and comfort he provides in all kinds of suffering, especially internal, mental suffering.
• Read Matthew 28:1–20.

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