In the Morning

Throughout the Psalms, we encounter snapshots of a man in travail - someone who experiences great disappointment, yet is aware of the promise of joy and strength in the Lord.  In Psalm 34, we can
read:
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

When we encounter a sense of hopelessness, when we are seemingly overwhelmed by despair, we can seek out the presence of Almighty God.  We can be assured by the Scriptures that He is with us and that He is the one who, as Psalm 23 suggests, will restore our soul.  The book of Acts speaks of times of refreshing that come from Him.  So, when our souls are troubled or "downcast," as the Psalmist writes, we can, as he also writes, put our hope in God - He can refresh our souls and He can change our outlook.

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In Psalm 30, the writer is reflecting on a previous experience, in which he was in despair, yet he
experienced the power of God. He says:
2 O Lord my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me.
3 O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4 Sing praise to the Lord, You saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.

Verse 5 was actually used by a Faith Radio programmer in a recent op-ed piece for FoxNews.com - more on that later.

It's described as a "Notorious Suicide Bridge" in an headline on the Faithwire.com website.  It's the Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland in the U.K., and an 18-year-old girl named Paige Hunter has taken some steps to help prevent people from taking their lives there.

The story says:

Hunter has left dozens of “heartfelt notes” on the Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland, in hopes that they can “offer solace to people facing a mental health crisis,” Northumbria Police stated, as reported by CBS News.

One of the notes read: “Even though things are difficult, your life matters. You’re a shining light in a dark world, so just hold on."

Recently, Paige was "awarded a commendation certificate by Northumbria Police Chief Superintendent Sarah Pitt to commend her caring and selfless act." Pitt said, "We thought it was important to applaud the work Paige has been doing and the help she has given those in Sunderland who are going through a mental health crisis..." Pitt added, "It is important that we encourage people to speak out and raise awareness of mental health issues and the impact on peoples’ lives."

Hunter says she's been told she has saved six lives. She says, "I wasn’t doing this for an award; it was just something that I wanted to do,” adding, “It’s just amazing, the response it has had.”

This is a relevant matter to Christians, who have the opportunity to address mental health issues and suicide.  Someone who has been leading the charge since the death of their son, Matthew, who took his own life after battling mental illness is Rick and Kay Warren.  At a conference in 2014, the year after Matthew died, according to the Christian Examiner website: "Warren shared five theological foundations that must define the church's mental health ministries. Those foundations are:

1. Every person has dignity because they are made by God, they are made in God's image and they are made for God's purposes and for God's glory.
2. In our fallen, imperfect world, all of us are broken.
3. Even though we're broken, we're still deeply loved and deeply valuable.
4. We get well in community.
5. What isn't healed on earth is healed in heaven."

Earlier this year, Pastor Rick worked on a letter concerning mental illness.  The ChurchLeaders.com website stated:

The letter, titled “Hope and Healing,” calls for an end to the stigma around mental illness and greater collaboration between science and medical professionals and people of faith.

The article also said:

Warren is quoted in the letter calling for greater recognition that mental illness is not the result of a lack of faith in God.

“Your chemistry is not your character,” Warren states, and “your illness is not your identity.”

The letter’s message: “It’s not a sin to be sick.”

“If your liver stops working, and you take a pill, there’s no stigma. If your heart stops working, and you take a pill, there’s no stigma. Why is it that if your brain stops working, and you take a pill, then there’s a stigma?” asks Warren.

 How pervasive is mental illness?  Well, that article states that:

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in five adults in the U.S. suffered from a mental disorder over the past year and nearly 10 million American adults, one in 25, have a mental illness that is severe enough to cause serious functional impairment. Fully 20 percent of adolescents currently have, or previously had, a seriously debilitating mental disorder. Mental, neurological and substance abuse disorders are the single largest source of disability in the U.S., accounting for nearly 20 percent of all disability.

Another ChurchLeaders.com story featured comments from Greg Laurie and Max Lucado on the topic of suicide, in relation to high-profile suicides that took place a few weeks ago.  The story says:

Pastor Greg Laurie told a packed AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday evening in today’s culture people think they can be happy only if they get rich and famous. But, he added, the “bottom line” is that “fame and wealth, possessions, all the things this world has to offer…will not make you happy.”

Laurie related that 45,000 people committed suicide in the previous year.  The article continued to quote from Pastor Laurie:

“There is someone who loves you and someone who values you. And He’s called Jesus Christ,” he stated, and quoted one of his favorite verses in the Bible, Jeremiah 29:11, which reads, “‘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.'”

That article makes reference to a FoxNews.com op-ed piece by Max Lucado, who also used the stat that 45,000 people committed suicide last year.  He wrote:

“Suicide victims battled life’s rawest contests. They often faced a mental illness or physical illnesses and felt the peril of mental fatigue. What you and I take for granted, they coveted. Optimism. Hope. Confidence that all would be well—that they would be well.

“Their clouds had no silver linings. Their storms had no rainbows.

“If that describes the way you feel, can I urge you to consider one of the great promises of the Bible? The promise begins with this phrase: “Weeping may last through the night” (Ps. 30:5).

 Later, he completed the verse, and added:

“But this may be: “Joy comes with the morning” (Ps. 30:5). Despair will not rule the day. Sorrow will not last forever. The clouds may eclipse the sun, but they cannot eliminate it. Night might prolong the dawn, but it cannot defeat it. Morning comes. Not as quickly as we want. Not as dramatically as we desire. But morning comes, and, with it, comes joy. Joy comes.

“Joy comes because God comes.”

And, there are key elements that come from God that can provide a adjusted outlook and prevent the taking of one's own life.  We recognize that the teachings of the Scriptures and the presence of the Holy Spirit bring hope. Even though it seems that Paige was not posting Scripture-based notes on the suicide bridge, yet her diligence is a reminder that words can change hearts.  And, we can be intent on speaking life-giving words that can change a person's ambition from death to life.

We also recognize that there is joy in the Lord.  As Psalm 30 teaches, there is the promise of a better day tomorrow.  But, joy is more than just mere optimism - it is a deep-seated assurance of God's hand on our lives and the indwelling of His Spirit.  We can seek to have that joy, which can fuel us even in our most demanding or overwhelming times.

Finally, we can take seriously the responsibility of the Church to become involved in matters of mental health.  He wants us to be of a sound mind, and He provides great power and instruction in helping to reinforce good mental and emotional patterns and to prevent people from taking their lives.