Somehow, things seemed much different. He wasn’t acting quite right. He was distant, preoccupied. Sure, he was right there with us, but his thoughts seemed million miles away. I only wish I understood why or how he could have done such a thing. God help me understand.
God help me. These are powerful words. Before facing conversation like the one in the paragraph above, perhaps a simple prayer of “God, help me” might be in order. What is it that might lead someone to run away, disappearing forever? What could possible go through one’s mind before taking their own life? Those who are left to pick up the pieces will never understand.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus gathered with his disciples and prepared them. He prepared them for the time after he would be taken from them. He prepared them for the time of his unlikely suffering and death. Jesus prepared them for the future also, a future that would bring calamity, worry, tribulation. In all of this, hear Jesus’s words, “I have overcome the world.”
Because Christ suffered for all the world’s sin, he endured all the world’s pain and agony. He suffered it all for you so that you would not suffer. No matter the sin, no matter the shame, no matter the feelings of guilt, depression or despair, Christ suffered it for you. He has overcome the world. Cast your hopes on him. cry out. He will hear you.
Prayer: God, help me. Amen.
In the Beginning 