Once again the apparent suicide of a prominent person hit the news. Response has been overwhelmingly kind and sympathetic. Yet there were a few insensitive or rash remarks that are more hurtful rather than offer healing. Sad to say, when we disagree with suicide it is easy to condemn it without taking the time to understand what the person may have gone through to reach that tipping point.
One day, my wife Grace and I were watching television. During a commercial break the ad gave a litany of questions like: “Do you have difficulty sleeping at night? Do you feel tired and run-down? Are you experiencing unusual levels of stress and anxiety? Have you lost interest in things that you used to enjoy? Do you feel insignificant and like a failure? Are you suffering from withdrawal, alienation, or loneliness?” Almost on cue, we looked at each other and started laughing nervously. It seemed that the ad was describing us! You see, it was a time when we were going through some difficult challenges. Our emotions weren’t in the best of conditions, and these were affecting our mental and physical functioning. Even though we intentionally sought to counteract the dark feelings, it was quite a task to do so. We still believed in the Lord. We were praying. We were reading our Bible. Yet we could not ignore how we were feeling. It was not pleasant.
Scripture speaks of “people of faith” who go through bouts of “emotional downtime.” “I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God” (King David in Psalm 69.2–3 NIV). Some so severe that they cry out: “I’ve had enough! Now, O LORD, take my life. After all, I’m no better than my ancestors” (The prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19.4 NET).
The Lord’s first response was not to scold the prophet for the way he felt. Instead, the Lord let Elijah rest and supplied him with food until he was refreshed and regained his strength. Then the Lord led the prophet in a journey to the “mountain of God” and there addressed the matters that troubled him (1 Kings 19.5-9).
Perhaps the community of faith should learn from the Lord. Instead of making someone in the clutches of depression feel guilty about “lack of faith,” we would do well to accompany him in a journey leading back to the Lord. This is one way of bearing “one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6.2 ESV).
—Keith Y. Jainga