Examine the Message: 08 of 09
Suicide Is Encouraged & Assisted by Satan
Revelation: Suicide Is Encouraged & Assisted by Satan
Where Do Thoughts of Suicide Come From?
God revealed to me that there is a spiritual dimension to suicide that the world does not understand.
According to what He taught me, Satan desires to destroy the human creation of God.
And one of the ways he attempts to accomplish that destruction is through suicide.
This revelation caused me to examine a fundamental question:
Is Every Thought That Enters Your Mind Really Your Own?
God taught me to examine thoughts spiritually rather than automatically accepting them as truth.
Scripture says:
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:”
~ 2 Corinthians 10:3 (KJV)
And then:
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
~ 2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV)
Look carefully at those words:
“…bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
Why would Scripture tell us to bring thoughts into captivity if every thought entering the mind should automatically be trusted?
According to what God revealed to me, it should not.
Take Your Thoughts to God
One of the earliest lessons the LORD taught me was not to rely upon my own thoughts simply because they appeared in my mind.
I learned to take what entered my mind before God and ask Him for truth and understanding.
That changed my relationship with Him.
Rather than assuming that I knew what was right, I learned to measure what came into my mind against what God was teaching me.
This requires humility.
The world teaches us to become increasingly self-reliant.
God taught me something different:
Truly Know Him and Trust Him.
When a thought comes, do not automatically surrender to it.
Take it to God.
The Lie Behind Suicide
According to what God revealed to me, Satan attempts to convince a suffering person that death will provide escape.
The thought may say:
The pain will stop.
There is no other way.
You cannot endure this.
Death will bring peace.
God taught me that these thoughts must not simply be accepted.
Do Not Obey the Thought.
Bring it into captivity.
Take it to Jesus Christ.
Cry out to God.
And do not isolate yourself from people who can help keep you safe.
God Allowed Me to Experience the Darkness
I do not write about this subject merely from a distance.
After undergoing back surgery, I was taking powerful medication prescribed for my pain. During that period, I experienced a frightening state in which I did not always feel in control of my body or mind.
My perception of reality became distorted.
I even believed that someone caring for me was working against me before realizing that what I thought was happening was not actually occurring.
Then I experienced something even darker.
Thoughts came urging me to escape unbearable darkness by leaping from a cliff.
I was looking for God.
I could not see Him.
And as I was preparing to follow the thought that had entered my mind, the LORD intervened.
He reminded me of something He had promised:
He Would Never Leave Me Alone.
That experience taught me something I could never have understood merely through intellectual discussion.
A person can experience overwhelming darkness.
A thought can appear to offer escape.
And in that moment, the thought can seem convincing.
But the thought does not have to be obeyed.
Trust God Even When You Cannot See Him
The LORD taught me to trust that He remained present even when I could not see Him.
The darkness did not determine whether God was there.
My feelings did not determine whether God was there.
What I could see did not determine whether God was there.
God Was Still There.
According to what Jesus taught me through these experiences, Satan’s lies do not have to prevail when Jesus Christ abides in the heart.
That is why the answer is not to surrender to the darkness.
Call upon God.
Bring the thought to Jesus Christ.
Tell someone who can help you remain safe.
Do not face a suicidal crisis alone.
Parents and Caretakers: Pay Attention
This revelation also carries a serious warning concerning children.
Parents and caretakers have tremendous responsibility.
Children need to know that they can come to you.
Listen when they speak.
Do not make them feel that everything else in your life is more important than they are.
In A Call From God for Change, I give a very simple example.
If you are speaking on the telephone and your child needs you, let the person on the telephone wait while you attend to your child.
Why?
Because your child needs to know:
“You matter to me.”
Children should know that they can speak about what frightens them, confuses them, troubles them, or is happening within them.
Do not dismiss them.
Listen.
Love them.
Protect them.
Pray for them.
And help them.
Examine Your Thoughts
This revelation asks each of us to become more discerning about what enters the mind.
Ask yourself:
Do I accept every thought as my own?
Do I take troubling thoughts before God?
Do I know the Word well enough to recognize something that contradicts Him?
When darkness comes, do I isolate myself -or reach toward God and trustworthy help?
Am I listening when my child tells me something is wrong?
Then remember the instruction of Scripture:
“…bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
~ 2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV)
If You Are Experiencing Thoughts of Suicide
Do not obey the thought telling you to die.
Do not keep it secret.
Tell someone immediately.
Stay with someone who can help keep you safe.
Seek immediate crisis or emergency help when necessary.
And cry out to God.
The presence of a suicidal thought does not require your obedience to it.
Take the Thought Captive.
Bring it before Jesus Christ.
Let others stand with you while you are in the darkness.
And remember what the LORD taught me in my own darkness:
You May Not See Him, but God Has Not Disappeared.
Examine the Revelation
Read 2 Corinthians 10:3–5 (KJV) carefully.
Do not rush over the instruction concerning thoughts.
Ask God:
LORD, What Am I Allowing Into My Mind?
Ask Him for discernment.
Ask Him to expose deception.
Ask Him to teach you to recognize His voice.
And when a thought contradicts the life and obedience to which God is calling you:
Do not surrender to it.
Take it captive.
Bring it to Christ.
Trust God.