"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,
"Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my go-to Bible verses when I feel stuck or unsure of myself or unable to “figure it all out”. It is a reminder to me that God has a plan for my life, as He does for everyone’s life. I often wonder what is going through one’s mind when they get to the point where they feel as if they cannot go on... that no matter what they do, nothing will ever be right or work out. It is hard for me to understand how a person can totally give up and not wait to see what happens next. My heart aches for those who feel that way.
In my life, I have been in situations where things were not working out the way I had hoped or planned; I think we've all been there. But for me, patience, prayer, and faith, always led to God revealing the result of each situation I was facing and believe it or not, the result was always what I needed, or better than what I needed.
God will not let us down, we just have to be still. Unfortunately, many people do not wait to see the result of what God is doing with their situation. It is a sad reality for many people and their families and friends. I have experienced this first hand, and it is devastating.
On December 5, 2015 I lost my best friend. I will never forget the moment that I found out he was gone. It was horrifying. I always think about the things that I could have done to prevent him from ending his life.
Questions that haunt me are: Could I have said something different? Could I have been there for him even more than I was? Did I ask him the right questions? Was I supportive enough? And the list goes on...
But what haunts me the most is asking myself this: What if he had waited just one more day? Would one more day have made the difference? I really believe that it could have. I know that God had a much better plan for Mark. I just wish that I had been able to help him see that.
Mark was fun, friendly, hysterically funny, always smiling, and never a bore. He was the life of the party.
His troubles never seemed big enough to result in ending his life. Even as one of his closest friends, I never dreamed that his troubles ran so deep.
One of the hardest things for me to accept is that Mark did not wait it out. I truly believe that if he had done so, God would have revealed a better life for him with outcomes that would have been even more than Mark could've ever dreamed.
You see, many times our faith in God is put through trials and when it is, I believe the enemy is close by waiting to see how we will react. Our reactions are within our control, the situations may not be, but our reactions are.
If we allow Satan to take advantage of our weaknesses, the results can be damaging, to say the least. I understand feelings of inadequacy, feelings of being unloved and unimportant; I think we all do at times, but it is up to us to reach out to God for help in these times and pray about what it is He is trying to show us.
I have heard many testimonies of people who did not believe or had little faith and cried out to God for help when they felt they could not go on…and guess what? God was there…He is ALWAYS there waiting for you to cry out to Him. He loves all of us and is waiting for us to call to Him. I myself, have that testimony to share one day. God is so good....all the time.
Related article: Waiting on God: Why it is Important to Wait on God
I cannot bring my best friend back. I cannot tell him how much I love him and miss him. I cannot tell him how he changed my life in so many positive ways. And I cannot tell him about the huge void I have in my life now that he once filled. But what I can do is try to help others who feel lost and alone by letting them know that God is there for them and if they seek His face and give it just ONE MORE DAY, it may be all they need to see real changes... positive ones.
One more day….one more day…. There is nothing so big that our God cannot handle. There is no mountain that He cannot overcome. Jesus overcame the world and He will carry you when you feel as if you cannot take another step.
Three years have passed and not a day goes by that I don’t think about my best friend. He is forever embedded in my heart.
Please, if you or someone you know seems troubled or depressed or hints at ending their life, please.... talk to them. Ask them questions. Tell them about God’s love for them. Tell them that God is there and that His love is the greatest love of all.
And tell them give it one more day and then, give it another day and another......
Blessings,
Amy
