Psalm 13 GOD’S WORD Translation
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
13 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I make decisions alone
with sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look at me! Answer me, O Lord my God!
Light up my eyes,
or else I will die
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overpowered him.”
My opponents will rejoice because I have been shaken.
5 But I trust your mercy.
My heart finds joy in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord because he has been good to me.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
“How Long, O’ Lord?” Will You Forget Me Forever?
Psalm 13:1-2 GOD’S WORD Translation
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
13 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I make decisions alone
with sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
This lament of David is a cry of the heart from someone who feels that he is alone and forsaken.. isolated, forgotten and cut off from the favor of the Lord.
David’s soul is crying out in bitter anguish of mind and inner confusion of the soul because to David, in the moments he penned this, the Lord seems to have forgotten all about him and has apparently hidden His face from His servant.
David, in the throes of this time of deep depression could not understand why the Lord was delaying the help he desperately needed.. and so his heart was grieving and his soul cried out in bitterness and distress – “how long O Lord?”
David felt that the enemy was triumphing over him while the Lord seemed to have distanced Himself far away from His faithful servant.. and so he lashed out at the people around him and God, challenged the Lord with multiple questions:
How long O LORD.. will You forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
David wanted to know how long the bitter trial and manifold difficulties that were flooding into his life would continue, before the Lord would step in..
to right the wrong and injustices and comfort His servant?
And in our own days of greatest distress and difficulties we too will often find ourselves locked into David’s position.. calling out in desperation to the Lord as we become increasingly submerged by the struggles and sorrows of our day.
As we too cry with our loudest, saddest voices, out to a iron-clad heaven and we find ourselves wrestling inwardly with the very same rhetorical questions that burdened David’s heart, flowed from his pen some three thousand years ago.
How often do we too feel that God has forgotten us and that like David we seem to have been completely, utterly cut off from the abundant favor of the Lord?
How often we experience feelings of deep depression.. anguish of soul and bitter heartache as the enemies of our soul seem to be attacking us from every side..
and we not so subtly discover ourselves to be increasingly overwhelmed by all the news of everything which is bad, tragic, that is coming on the earth today.
Psalm 13:3-6 GOD’S WORD Translation
3 Look at me! Answer me, O Lord my God!
Light up my eyes,
or else I will die
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overpowered him.”
My opponents will rejoice because I have been shaken.
5 But I trust your mercy.
My heart finds joy in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord because he has been good to me.
But David is a man after God’s own heart.. and although that does not preclude him from having to go through the inevitable trials and tribulations of life-
his confidence in God stands firm in the goodness of the Lord and his bitter pleas for help.. come from the heart and the soul of a man who ultimately trusts in God’s mercy, grace, loving-kindness; and rejoices in the joy of his salvation.
However, it was not long before the bitter lament of David turned into a hymn of praise when he remembered the many precious promises of the Lord –
for he knew that the “brief sufferings” of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory of God that is to be revealed to us in the days to come.
The same is no less true today.
Indeed the enormous complexities and difficulties and dangers we face in life today.. should be pondered as momentary, light affliction, which are producing for us an eternal weight of God’s glory far beyond what we could ask or think.
But, Still, We Need to Very Much Talk About Suicide
When it comes to an awareness of mental health, it is important to be aware of our own, as well as, others’ feelings – We never know what a person may be going through – they could be doing alright, but they could also be on the brink.
First and Foremost it must absolutely be said, in no uncertain terms, our own mental health needs to be taken extremely seriously, given the utmost respect and great personal attention – we must take the value of our lives to the utmost.
If we need to make and take the time to “sort out the things of this life” which increasingly do not make sense, threaten to overwhelm our sense of wellbeing, then by all means we must exercise our own absolute right to life and to seek help!
We cannot think more highly of others until we can straighten out our own thoughts and feelings of how we feel about ourselves and why we feel less about ourselves!
Please! Please! Please! Absolutely, avail yourself of every single opportunity to take the utmost care of yourselves – You are always Highly Valued by God, our Father!
Be Affirmed! In the name of God, the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit!
You are a wonderful creation of God, in His Image and God loves you so dearly.
The Hand of God created you singularly, uniquely, loves you unconditionally.
Even before you were born, God knew you and He had a wonderful plan for your life — a plan shaped exclusively for you, and God knows that only you can do.
Maybe you have tried many things and tried them over and over and over again, and only messed up worse each time, but God still has a great idea for your life.
Things Christians Need to Understand about Suicide
My own professional background is as a Registered Nurse whose many years of clinical practice was devoted to the area of Psychiatry, Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Addictions – to both the Acute and Chronic and the Homeless.
Over the years, I have attended many professional conferences and seminars.
Conclusions are generally the same of the PhD level presenters: Suicide is a word that often makes people feel very uncomfortable for several reasons.
For some, it triggers past pain or current fears, while for others, it provokes the final, ultimate taboo, it evokes judgment, concern, and a lack of understanding.
Many who experience the depth of internal stress of major depression have an enormous difficulty expressing it to anyone for fear of being labeled as weak or emotionally unstable or risk being embarrassed as too emotionally insecure.
In other cases, I have counselled many homeless who will see family members dismiss the concerns of their loved ones due to the stigma surrounding suicide.
Additionally, Christian culture has added more rancor and division within this topic by neglecting to provide a serious measure of support for those suffering, thus perpetuating the needless stigma associated with psychological distress.
The truth is, an advanced clinical university degree or whether we have little to no personal knowledge of suicide, we as true believers need to be informed and prepared to address the acute reality of pain, both personally and relationally.
For as much as we may or may not want to admit, talk of it, the reality is that professional burnout and suicidality is increasing within the church family.
From pastors to their Laity, the body of Christ in their diversity of backgrounds, experiences are silently struggling to minister in the name of spiritual maturity.
The rates of suicide across the board is rising at an all too alarming rate not for the church to give its utmost attention too – where can it play an essential role.
Unfortunately, the topic of suicide has been an untouchable, taboo topic within the church for centuries.
Starting as early as mid fifth century AD, churches began to condemn suicide and punish those who sought to take their own lives and disgracing the burials of victims of suicide.
While we have certainly come a long way over the years, made great strides in providing more facilities and resources the church has not fully embraced its own role to provide non-judgmental support for mental health-related issues.
Lifeway research reports that although a large majority of church members want their pastors to talk openly about mental illness, 66 percent of pastors speak to their church once a year or less on the subject (Lifeway, 2014).
Consequently, this zone of silence unintentionally isolates those impacted by mental health, suicide, allowing room for some to believe that their struggles are simply a sign of a critically weak faith or even worse, spiritual immaturity.
Maybe, this is you or this is someone very close to you – maybe your Pastor?
It is long past the time we bravely speak up and support each other in seeking to end the silence, the stigma of suicide by learning facts, sharing our struggles.
What We Each Need to Understand
1. The Word of God for the Children of God
First, we must ground our learning process in the Word of God.
Believe it or not, suicide is nothing new to our current culture.
Did you know that there are over six accounts of suicide mentioned in Scripture between the Old and New Testament?
The most well-known passage, found in Matthew 27:3-5, is the account of Judas Iscariot’s death, hanging himself after betraying Christ.
Why is this significant?
Because it affirms and validates the history of hopelessness and severe mental health issues experienced since the beginning of time.
Just look at David’s psalms, Hannah’s prayer, Jeremiah’s Laments, the Apostle Paul’s account of his persecution, which led to him say he despaired of life itself (2 Corinthians 1:8).
These men and women of God spoke honesty and publicly and vulnerably of the excruciating, overwhelming depths of pain that gripped their hearts and souls.
Scripture invites us to acknowledge and recognize this pain, suffering, and emotional distress as consequences of our broken state and Satan’s attacks.
We are indeed all in need of a hope that does not minimize nor stigmatizes our suffering.
The message of the gospel is just that.
Although often misused as a sugar-coated solution, Christ’s hope does not minimize nor negate our own seasons of pain but repurposes it for our gain.
The gospel Christ preached rightly recognizes shame, sin, pain, brokenness, and lovingly invites us, welcomes us, into the healing process of Salvation.
In light of Scripture, we can begin to cultivate a new understanding of suicide, by way of suffering, and seek to hold fast to the unfading hope found in God’s eternal promise (1 Peter 1:2-7, Revelation 21:4-5).
2. The Stats
For many, suicide is a personal battle or a deep wound of loss, yet others would say they know little about suicide or its prevalence in our current culture.
Why is it important to understand statistics surround suicide and suicidality?
Because our awareness of a problem prompts our responsibility to address it.
Do you and I know where suicide ranks on the leading cause of death report?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2018, suicide ranked as the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, claiming the lives of over 48,000 people.
Within this vastly significant number, suicide was recognized as the second leading cause of death among the ages of 10 and 34 and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 54 (CDC, 2018).
Even more astounding, research states 1.2 million people attempted suicide in 2018; one attempt every 26 seconds (American Association of Suicidology, 2020).
By knowing this reality, our response is likely to change when a friend stops reaching out or when a family member begins to isolate themselves.
Our awareness of the likelihood of suicide is what will prayerfully prompt deep and meaningful conversations, support our efforts in loving those around us.
4. The Psychology
Ever wonder what causes someone to end their life?
I believe this is the question to answer when a loved one is lost to suicide.
All of our whys do not always end with solid answers, and for many, the lack of psychological understanding gives way to missing the seriousness of this issue.
In seeking to bring closure to the unanswered questions many survivors may have, it is helpful to know suicide is complex, much more so than depression.
Dr. Norman Wright notes that the most common answer to why people take their own lives is psychological pain, or “psychache” (Crisis & Trauma, 2011).
The Founder of the American Association for Suicidology (2020) expounds on this broad understanding stating,
“Psychache is the hurt, anguish or ache that takes hold in the mind. It is intrinsically psychological – the pain of excessively felt shame, guilt, fear, loneliness, etc.… Suicide occurs when psychache is deemed unbearable and death is actively sought to stop the unceasing flow of painful consciousness.”
Because emotional pain is experienced in diverse and various forms, Dr. Schneidman categorizes five clusters of psychological needs, which I have connected to scriptures, that if left unmet can account for suicidal action.
1. Need for love, acceptance, and belonging (Isaiah 43:1-4, Ephesians 3:14-21)
2. Need for control, achievement, autonomy, order, and understanding (Ephesians 2:10, 5:15-17)
3. Need for positive Self-image (Romans 8, Hebrews 12:1-12)
4. Relationships, nurturance, and affirmation (1 John 3:1-3; 11-24)
5. Need for dominance and emotional expression (James 1:19-27)
(Crisis & Trauma, p.300).
Scripture speaks of these significant needs in our lives through many biblical character’s experiences.
Look again and again at David’s words in Psalm 13:1-4 God’s Word Translation
13 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I make decisions alone
with sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look at me! Answer me, O Lord my God!
Light up my eyes,
or else I will die
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overpowered him.”
My opponents will rejoice because I have been shaken.
As we seek to understand and value how our emotions communicate our lived experiences, we can begin to normalize the prevalence of emotional distress and support others who may feel as though God does not care about heartaches.
4. The Signs
The fourth thing that is important to know about suicide is the signs.
Whether we are currently struggling or know someone who is, understanding and assessing the warning signs is key to prevention and providing support.
As we have already learned, many contributors lead to suicidality, so how do we know if someone is actually at risk or deeply struggling?
Here are just a few signs to consider:
- Evidence of emotional distress (depression, anxiety, hopelessness, fear, anger, sudden mood shifts, isolation/withdrawal, recklessness, etc.)
- Intrusive thoughts and/or statements of suicidal intention or ideation (“I don’t have a reason to live” or “I keep thinking people would be better off without me”)
- Seeking access to or having access to items such as firearms, pills, sharp objects
- Having a plan or contemplating a plan for attempting suicide.
If we are experiencing any of these symptoms, please seek support immediately (see resources at the end of this article).
For those of you who may know someone exhibiting these signs, speak up.
Assessing risk can be done with four basic questions (status, frequency, duration, plan):
1. Are we wanting/thinking about suicide/self-harm?
2. If so, how often do we think about it?
3. How long have we been feeling this way?
4. Do we have a plan and/or means of carrying this out?
The answers to these questions will help us determine how to best proceed with obtaining and providing support.
5. The Support
Finally, the accumulation of our understanding allows us to be equipped to both find support and offer support to one another.
As the family of God, we are called to bear with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2) and carry each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2).
By no means does this place the responsibility of other’s choices on our shoulders, but invites us to be active participants in supporting the work of healing for our hearts and the hearts of those around us.
As a Christian with my years of professional experience as a Mental Health Counselor, I readily encourage my friends and family to find a professional counselor they trust and encourage them to both make and the take time to acknowledge their pain and access healing through various forms of therapy.
Also, there are many groups, online and locally, that readily support the work of addressing the seriousness of suicide prevention and of survivor support.
Ultimately, the most meaningful way we can personally support someone in our life who is struggling with their thoughts of suicide or the loss of a loved one by suicide is to be in it with them – Gracefully, we learn to listen, love others well.
Lastly, If we are personally struggling, I want to be the one to tell you, God, our Father, and Jesus Christ His Son and God the Holy Spirit are 100% in it with us.
Please reach out to those in your circle and/or call the Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for support.
Until Heaven, Let us hold onto our LIVNG HOPE found in our LIVING SAVIOR!
Resources and References
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Focus on the Family’s Get Help
National Alliance on Mental Health
American Association of Suicidality
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018) WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Reports.
Retrieved from: https://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcause.html
Drapeau, C. W., & McIntosh, J. L. (for the American Association of Suicidology). (2020). U.S.A. suicide: 2018 Official final data. Washington, DC: American Association of Suicidology, dated February 12, 2020, downloaded from http://www.suicidology.org.
Mental Illness Remains Taboo Topic for Many Pastors (2016) Lifeway Research. Retrieved:https://lifewayresearch.com/2014/09/22/mental-illness-remains-taboo-topic-for-many-pastors/
Wright,Dr. H Noram (2011) The Complete Guide to Crisis & Trauma Counseling: What to Do and Say When It Matters Most. Regal Publishing, California.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 23 Amplified Bible
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me],
I shall not want.
2
He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still and quiet waters.
3
He refreshes and restores my soul (life);
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.
4
Even though I walk through the [sunless] [a]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.
5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed and refreshed my head with [b]oil;
My cup overflows.
6
Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the Lord.
Heavenly Father, Savior Christ, Intercessor Holy Spirit, thank You for the example of David who despite the many successes, many problems, pressures, disappointments and pain that he brought upon himself, he was called upon by you to suffer, still he trusted in Your never-failing promises, kept in his remembrance Your never-ending faithfulness. Help me to follow his example when life’s pressures bear down on me and keep me under the shadow on Your goodness and grace – I ask in Jesus name.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 