Day 176 - Unanswered Questions
Suicide always leaves unanswered questions.
“Just this week I spoke with a darling father,” says Barbara Johnson. “He was about forty years old and had a seventeen-year-old son. His son died by suicide. There’s no preparation for this. A darling Christian boy, active in his church; his father was a wonderful Christian man. So there’s no explanation for this.
"That is when you have to claim Deuteronomy 29:29, ‘The secret things belong to the Lord.’ And this is a secret thing. No one will ever know the reason why this thing happened, this side of heaven. As I counsel many parents who have lost children to suicide, that is the hardest one to deal with. They want to blame themselves. I try to tell them that their child went out to meet a just and a loving God. And God only knows the answers. You can’t blame yourself for what your kids do or grab onto guilt.”
No, you cannot blame yourself. You have no direct control over the decisions of other people.
“The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion” (Psalm 116:5).
Holy Father, I will never truly know the reason for this suicide until I get to heaven. Every time I start to point the finger of blame, gently cover my hand with Yours and restore me in Your peaceful presence. Amen.