Finding strength in troubling times
My life’s passion is sharing the message of hope with men who are despairing of life. I would even go as far as to say that I will do everything in my power, within reason, to pull him back from the brink of despair. Why? because I believe that life is worth living and his life is worth saving. You may be reading this and thinking why I am focusing on men?. You may be probably thinking to yourself and saying to yourself “and what about women”? “don’t women fall into despair too?”. I would answer by saying that Men have the highest rate of death by suicide and the numbers are increasing every day. Male Suicide is now a pandemic. We just cannot just step back, turn a blind eye and bury our heads in the sand. It is a reality. I believe that we all have our part to play in bringing the numbers of male death by suicide down.
You may wondering why Male Suicide Prevention is a huge focus for me right now. I believe that man is created in the image of God and is deeply loved by the Almighty God. I also believe that God has a purpose, a hope, a destiny and a plan for mankind — both men and women. God’s desire, according to John 10:10 is for mankind to enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].
In today’s blog, I wanted to give an example of a man who was pulled back from being on the brink of despair and suicide through divine intervention. His name was Elijah. In the book of Kings Chapter 1 vs 19, Elijah faced a situation where Queen Jezebel threatened to hunt down and kill him. Elijah saw death by suicide as an option to escape and an immediate end and solution to his problem.
Feeling burnt out and exhausted. Elijah said ‘I have had enough Lord’. Elijah has the core belief that he was finished and that his life was over. ‘Take my life. I know better than my ancestors’. Elijah saw himself as an embarrassment. He saw himself as a failure.
Elijah was in mental anguish, God recognized that Elijah needed to build up physical resilience. When the Angel of the Lord provided food, Elijah was strengthened and was able to travel forty days and forty nights.
When we feel mentally depleted, burnt out, exhausted, due to circumstances, it can trigger us to behave in a way that are destructive and detrimental to our well-being. The example of Elijah and the Angel demonstrates the importance of physical rest, sleep and drinking water, and food nourishment to build strength for our physical and emotional well being
My prayer is that if you are feeling depleted and exhausted today , that God will strengthen you and give you the resilience to move forward, even if just means getting through today. God promises to be your strength and refuge.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” Psalm 46:1
