photo #3013791

"When There Is No Hope"The son of an old friend of mine committed suicide. Its heart breaking and it would help a lot if we understood why a person would do that. It goes against how we’re wired. Humans are programmed for survival. We fight to live. We struggle to stay alive for another week, another day. So when someone who has their whole life ahead of them deliberately ends it, we can’t make sense of it.But we have to try. There are people all around us who feel things way more deeply than we do; who wrestle with things that roll off our backs; who live with blackness lapping at the edges of their consciousness; who fight feelings of hopeless, and who see no light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. One of those was the poet William Cowper, a man who loved God and yet battled such deep despondency that on multiple occasions he tried to end his life. In the aftermath of one of those mental breakdowns he penned this magnificent piece… Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, The clouds ye so much dread Are big with mercy, and shall break In blessings on your head. Judge not the lord by feeble sense, But trust him for his grace; Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.How I wish someone could have convinced this boy of this; that yes, there are black clouds on our horizons from time to time, but behind them is a merciful God who does not allow us to pressed beyond the breaking point; who loves us; and who yearns for us to trust that the difficulties of life are temporary, and for our greater good. No one saw the depth of his pain. But I do know this—there is a God in heaven who comforts the weak; defends the helpless; protects the innocent; and welcomes his children to himself. He was his child, and despite his despair, he is very much safe “on the other side.”