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Why would someone kill themselves? Why would they make a permanent solution to a temporary problem? What is a good perspective? You are right. No problem on this earth is permanent. Situations, feelings, moods, circumstances, the weather, our friends, appearances, ages, family, jobs, bosses, neighbors, governments, - every thing changes – except two things. God Never changes. Death is permanent. Everything else changes. “ For I am the LORD, I do not change.” Malachi 3:6 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the LORD. Psalm 106:48 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Revelation 1:8 The LORD is the true God; He is the living God, the eternal King. Jeremiah 10:10 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation 22:13
Everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved; Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." John 7:37,38 Ironic, isn’t it? The Ruler of the universe wants acceptance from you first so He can accept you just as you are. God wants you to accept Him just as He is, and for you to accept His Good and Merciful terms, and IF YOU DO, then "my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 You and I come to God with all of our dysfunction and filth, the only way we can come to a holy God, for only God can clean us up from the inside out and make us functional and satisfied with our vast significance in Him. Yet, God does not force us, instead He woos us and calls us with His everlasting love. If we say "Speak, for your servant is listening." 1 Samuel 3:10, then we can have a fabulous adventure of a life with the Living God. Remember, this is not religion, but a relationship with a living and powerful God.
I knew this girl. She had everything going for her. She was lovely to look at, had a good job, had a bright future ahead of her, … and then she killed herself. Why??? This is one way to look at it - When you take a plane flight, you start off on the ground. It may be stormy outside. The rain is pouring, the lightning is flashing, and the thunder is booming. It seems pretty scary outside the airplane’s window. The pilot says over the loud speaker that you may take off in a few minutes, waiting for a break in the storm. And then you feel afraid wondering how you can lift off with all that adverse weather outside. As if the pilot reads your mind, he says the take off may be a little bumpy, but it will be fine and you should arrive at your destination safely and on time. You sit back with relief, trusting in the pilot’s voice and judgment. But then you gaze out the window again. The water is beading on the window, the wind is blowing the man’s orange coat outside, and you begin to worry again. What if,... You play the pilot’s comforting words again in your head, you begin to trust his words, and then you rest a bit more. Then the plane lurches forward. It is your plane's turn in line to take off. You check you seat belt to make sure it is secure and you brace yourself for the drive on the runway for the take off. Your eyes are fixed on the outside because you don’t want to miss a thing. The tires bump along the pavement and you note where the joints in the cement are. As you go faster, the pavement becomes smoother. It's peculiar that way. Then the airplane picks up speed, and you feel the pressure pushing you backward. You lean forward compensating, and soon you are off the ground and about 30 feet in the air. You are glad, and hoping the climb upward continues to “smoother” air. As the plane ascends, you start to notice a change. Your chair is not at such a diagonal angle, but is level, and you begin to look out the window again. What a sight! You notice the wind, the rain, the water beading, but now you feel hidden in the clouds. You can hardly see anything but the cloud you are in. If you suffer from claustrophobia, this is not a good feeling. But it is only a feeling, and not reality. While you may “feel” trapped, you are not trapped. And in a few minutes, you are suddenly gazing at the bright sunshine and all of the clouds are way down far below you! What an amazing change!! All within 20 minutes the world you are in seems to have changed completely. From being on the ground in a great thunderstorm to being above the clouds and seeing from a higher and bigger perspective. It is calm and stable up where you are. It is even, clear, and bright. You can see for hundreds of miles, and it all looks so good! It is the Big picture and life is manageable. Suddenly you hear the familiar voice of the airplane pilot again. He states the plane’s altitude and arrival time. You knew you could trust him. And you wish you would have listened more to him earlier. But you decide to trust the pilot more next time. Life is like this airplane flight. We often go along on the ground taking our own perspective as if it is the only one that is valid. We get caught up in the storms of life and feel tossed by them and a bit claustrophobic in our circumstances. Sometimes we feel like there is no way out. But these are just Feelings. Feelings are not facts, but feelings. They are generated by experience, moods, and biological hormones. Facts are different. Facts are concrete cause and effect on physical properties. Like a plane pushing past the rain storm to soar far above it and land safely in a distant destination. And the voice of comfort and wisdom of the pilot is like the voice of God Who already knows the map and safe vehicles to travel through life for you personally. When we choose to not listen to the bigger and higher voice of God, but instead choose to look with a microscope at our own life and decide to get caught up in the wind and the rain, then we are turning off our help, hope, and life line. Instead, we should read the map on our own, the Bible, and get the eternal perspective. We are eternal creatures that need to walk by faith and not by sight, and start seeing the bigger and more significant picture for our life. When we do this, we will sense that the sun is still shining even when we are in the midst of a storm. When we do this, we will hear our Pilot's voice telling us the way to go and we won’t turn from it. When we do this, we will sense we are in safety and on our way to the right destination. Take the “above the clouds” view. Enjoy God’s perspective!! We may all look like ants from way up high, but the quilts of farmland which are grown for our benefit let us know that God provides mightily for His “ants” and that nothing is too difficult for our God to do and provide for us. His promises are true for His children, and we can rest in His Palm now and forever. Trust and obey the Living God, for there is no other way for our Joy to be full on His earth. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. Jeremiah 32:40 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. Isaiah 59:1 The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 And everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved; Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." John 7:37,38 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' John 3:5-7 Yet to all who received Him (Jesus Christ), to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. John 1:12,13 Whoever believes in Him (Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son (Jesus). John 3:18
You were made for something bigger than your wants. You were designed for your needs of eternal destiny. Do not get caught up in the pleasures of this world. Never live in the world as if your life here will never end. King Solomon said: The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 1:1,2; 12:8,12:13,14 (Read Ecclesiastes for more details!)
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