Losing a loved one is never easy, especially if it’s a child or teenager, let a lone a suicide. A lot of questions come up around someone taking their own life. But for those that know Christ, we can cling to the promise found in Romans 8:31-38 which says,
“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31-39 (NLT)
Sometimes we want to put suicide in a category all by itself. However, suicide is included in the word nothing. If someone is in Christ, nothing can separate them for His love.
With that being said, we need to remember that …
Sorrow and Grief are never easy!
When we lose someone we love it is difficult to let go and say goodbye. Even Jesus, who was fully God and fully man, was filled with sorrow and grief when his friend Lazarus had passed away. The Bible says in John 11:35 that “Jesus Wept.”
Now I understand that each of us grieve in different ways. Some of us need to get away and spend some time alone while others need the company of friends. Whichever the case, I encourage you to allow yourself to grieve.
I believe God is a God of Comfort and He is willing to comfort those who ask for His help in this grief process. As you grieve I would encourage you to allow God to comfort you. His Word says,
“He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
Jesus said in Matthew 5:4,
“God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 (NLT)
As you continue to grieve allow God to comfort you as His Word promises He will do, and allow yourself to cry, to laugh, and to share stories that you remember about that loved one. This can help bring healing to yourself and those around you.
The loss of a loved one causes us to realize how fragile and short life can be!
None of us know exactly how long we have to live. We are not promised another year, another month, or another day. Each day is a gift from God.
The Bible reminds us just how short life is:
In Job 9:25 it says, “Mans days are swifter than a runner.”
James 4:14 says, “Our life is like the morning fog – it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.”
The loss of a loved one causes us to search for answers!
When we loose something we try to find it. When we experience a loss of life we try to find life. This process causes us to look for answers about God, about life, about death, and about eternity. Maybe you have asked yourself some of these questions. The Bible has much to say about each of these,
About God
1 John 4:8 says, “God is love.”
Now it is easy to say God is Love when things are going well, but to be honest, it can be difficult to believe “God is love” when things go wrong or not the way we expected them too. But the truth is, that even though the circumstances change, Gods love for you and for me never changes.
The passage goes on and says,
“God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10 (NLT)
Jesus talks about life and says in John 10:10,
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 (NIV)
John 3:16 says,
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, and whosoever believes in Him should not parish, but have everlasting life.”
In John 14:6, Jesus says,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”
You see this life that Jesus is talking about can’t be earned, bought, or taken away. It is simply a gift from God. It is the gift of salvation that He wants each one of us to have. It doesn’t matter what we have done or where we have been God offers this gift to each one of us, all we have to do accept the gift.
Romans 10:13 says,
“For ‘Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
As you search for answers, have you found the answers you have been looking for? If not, I would encourage you to ask God to reveal those answers to you and to help you understand the things, you don’t know.
Jeremiah 33:3 God says,
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
The loss of a loved one causes us to live life differently!
Upon receiving the news of losing a loved one, life as we knew it changed. No matter how hard we try we cannot change the past, the only thing we can change is the future. God has a future for each and every one of us. He says in Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
This is the promise that we can live on. It is a promise of hope and a future that can be ours through Jesus Christ. Even when our world seems to fall apart or we don’t understand why things happen, God is near. He is willing to help, He is willing to comfort, and He is willing to heal. Will you trust Him today and ask for His help?
Dan Gould 