Life can be difficult at best. There are times when even the strongest
person experiences despair. The load of life can be too much and we are tempted to give
up. Suicide can start to look like a good solution to our hopelessness. The following true
story illustrates the power of God’s Holy Spirit to bring about new life filled with
promise and hope.
Don and Margaret had lost their van. It had been repossessed. Even
though Don was working three jobs, he could barely keep up with the bills. Running a
household with three children was expensive these days and the extra medicine Margaret
needed was killing them financially. Now, without a van he didn’t know what he was
going to do. He could walk to one of his jobs, but the other two were out of town, and he
didn’t even know to whom he could turn to get a ride. All Don could think about was
ending his life. If he made it look like an accident, Margaret could at least claim the
insurance money. Then Don made up his mind to do it by arranging to cut wood, let the saw
slip and cut his wrist. No one would find him until it was too late.
Next Sunday, he went to church with his family, planning to ask for
forgiveness. He even felt content and peaceful at the thought of it all. When he saw
Margaret looking at him strangely he realized he was grinning from ear to ear. Not wanting
to raise suspicions, he started to pay attention to the sermon.
As Don began listening to the sermon, he felt as if the pastor was
talking right to him. "There are people here who are hurting so much that they
don’t even know how to begin to share their hurt with someone else. But, thanks be to
God, they are not on their own. They are not on their own because God has filled them with
the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is Jesus’ gift to all those who believe
in him. The Holy Spirit will touch persons hearts in such a way that they will have
hope." Even as Don was saying he did not have hope, the ice around his heart broke
and he began to cry. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He looked over at Margaret and
thought, "Maybe if I talk with the pastor, she can help me to bear this burden."
Without knowing how it happened, Don began to focus on living. God’s Spirit had
brought new life into Don’s life.
This is our hope. God’s love is for all of us. The Holy Spirit
makes it possible for us to live.