A few months ago, we mourned in my country, the death of a young doctor who parked his car on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos Nigeria, and jumped into the lagoon.  A few days ago, I read about a Pastor who killed himself! These are not normal occurrences. 

Matthew 4:5-6 flashed through my thoughts a while ago, then I found myself thinking; ‘was that a suicidal thought Jesus had’?  Can anything be done about them? what did Jesus do? 

“Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written: “He shall give His angels charge over you and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone”.    NKJV.

How do you think a young well educated man, drove his car to the seaside, parked it carefully, then drowned himself? Thoughts! Thoughts!! Thoughts!!! 

Despite the many insinuations that followed the death of the young doctor mentioned above, we sure cannot say for sure what his life experiences were like but it’s possible he  must have THOUGHT himself worthless, useless and somehow hoping that killing himself would free him from his misery. Or do you think that maybe just like Jesus, this young man was physically led by hand to the sea by the devil? 

When you read the temptation of Jesus Christ in Matthew 4, you may choose to believe the devil was speaking directly to Jesus as a physical being, that’s fine, but personally, it seems Jesus battled with some  devilish thoughts, among which was a suicidal thought.

In one of my recent blog posts; ‘Trading Depression‘ I shared some ways of living above depression learning from Isaiah 61:1-3, here again, we can learn some lessons about managing suicidal thoughts from Jesus as seen in Matthew 4:5-6; 

1. Suicidal thoughts can come to anyone;  if Jesus was tempted to jump down from a pinnacle and possibly die, anyone can be tempted too. 
2. Suicidal thoughts come with a promise of something better than currently experienced. Imagine angels holding you up in their hands….sounds heavenly, doesn’t it? 
3. Suicidal thoughts are not from God, Jesus recognized them as coming from the devil. 
4. You overcome suicidal thoughts by challenging them with the word of God. Have ready (at all times), an ‘it is written‘ from the bible, just as Jesus did and speak it out loud. 
5. Suicidal thoughts always bow to an ‘it is written‘ from the word of God.  

So the next time a suicidal thought comes to you, recognize that they are not coming from God, Jesus was tempted with such thoughts too but He overcame,  you can overcome when you throw back an ‘it is written‘ from the word of God because suicidal thoughts and their source always bow to the word of God. 

Do not be ignorant of the devices of the enemy; cast them Down & Out, and subject every thought to the obedience of Christ as we are told in 2 Corinthians 10:5;

“…..casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ….”

Finally brethren, I leave you with the words of Apostle Paul;

“…whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of a good report, it there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things.”   Philippians 4:8 

If it is not pure, just, noble, true, lovely, if it will not mean a good report, if it has no virtue in it and it doesn’t smell like something praiseworthy, choose not to think  or meditate on them    🙂  

My love always……….

Life happens! Happens to everyone. You lose a loved one, you have a bad business experience, your spouse cheats on you, your courtship ended unceremoniously, life is too hard on you, your many efforts don’t seem to be yielding corresponding results, etc, etc, Happens to everyone. 

Problem with unsavory life experiences is not that they happen, it is the heartache, hurt, pains, dejection and depression they come with. While many people easily shake these off, bounce back to everyday living, others move from dejection to severe depression. Feelings of persistent sadness, disinterest in activities once loved, worthlessness, and not finding meaning in life. 
It is usually not long after someone starts thinking living is useless  than they start harboring suicidal thoughts. 
Thanks to science and medicine, mental health professionals now provide therapy and medication for depression. Help can be sought. Mental Health Practitioners can be reached in your neighborhood or via the internet. 

 Here I share my thoughts on trading feelings of depression for a more meaningful, productive and impactful life. 

Isaiah 61:1-3

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor, he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord……to console those who mourn in Zion, to give beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness….” 

Beautiful prophecy from Isaiah about the Christ. As I read the good news in Isaiah 63, I am excited because I’ve got the Spirit of Christ in me, and so do you {if you’ve made Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior}. I can therefore categorically brag that the Spirit of The Lord is upon me  🙂  And where the Spirit of the Lord dwells, the joy of the Lord flows, and where the joy of The Lord flows, there’s no room for depression. 

Trade those feelings of depression and dejection today;

1. Be conscious, at all times, of the presence of the Holy Spirit in you. Pray always in the Spirit, make melody in your heart, sing songs and hymns in the Spirit. Enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit. 
2. Be Purpose-Driven. It is not okay to just walk through life without discovering purpose. God created you for a specific purpose. Find it {with God’s Help}. Ask Him. 
3. Be People-oriented. Invest time, energy, money, talents in people. Give to people, help people, comfort people, support people, console people.  Give people reasons to smile, to praise God, to enjoy their righteousness, etc, etc Move the attention from yourself to others. Don’t thrive in self-pity. Certainly do not call a pity-party for yourself. Appreciate that you can make a difference in someone’s life. That makes you ‘super-productive’.   🙂 
4. Be thankful for little things. Appreciate the air you breathe in, marvel in it. Appreciate the sun, moon and stars, the trees of the garden, and all beautifully created things all around you. Appreciate yourself; Realize that God made you carefully, wonderfully and beautifully. 
5. Be intentionally joyful. Choose joy over sadness, shake off the garment of heaviness. Make new friends. Indulge in new games, sports etc, Join a different department/group in Church, etc, etc. 

Reinvent yourself. For where the Spirit of The Lord is,
the joy of the Lord flows, and where the joy of The Lord flows, there’s no room for depression

I got Good news for you today….You Got the Holy Ghost! 

My love always…………..