Just a few weeks ago, on a bridge not too far from where we live, a 50-year-old woman parked her car off to the side of the highway and stepped out in front of a semi-truck.
A dear woman in mid-life had had it with life.
My heart is broken as questions invade my mind concerning this particular story.
Did she have a husband? Children? Did she have friends? Did she know Jesus? How long had her heart been torn? What and why?
I suppose one of the reasons this tugs so deeply upon my heart is that I remember having this same contemplation as a teenager: I had no friends, I had been falsely accused, I felt entirely abandoned and helpless. I remember running and hiding. I wanted to end the deep pain of rejection I felt. I wanted out of life, period.
I could have cranked it off, no one knew where I was; it would have taken them a while to even find my body.
I was raw, worn, sad, confused, angry.
I had allowed people to rob me of what was mine; I had allowed cruel words to crush my will and spirit; I had become convinced that their words were true
I bit the “bait of Satan” (lies) like a fish bites a hook, and I was held captive, because I didn’t know enough truth to hold onto, nor had I learned the secret of its life-giving power to my body, soul and mind.
The enemy of my soul comes to “steal, kill and destroy,” coming up against truth, but Jesus said He came so that we would have life to the full.” (John 10:10.)
Jesus Christ told His disciples that the truth would set them free. (John 8:31-32).
Freedom comes as truth is believed and life is lived from that place.
God’s word tells me that His love is steadfast, consistent and that His love for me “is as high as the heavens are above the earth.” (Psalm 103:11.)
God’s word tells me that there is no where I can go to flee His presence. Nowhere. (Psalm 139:7-12.)
God’s word tells me that His thoughts towards me outnumber the grains of sand. (Psalm 139:18.)
God’s word tells me that I am never alone, that He will never forsake me. (Hebrews 13:5)
The enemy of my soul would have had me end my life all those years ago. It would have stolen, killed and destroyed me completely on that day.
But Jesus, who I had given my life to as a little girl, rescued me with truth.
My story is too long for this short space; my life did not immediately get easy or “stained-glass.” My life became a journey towards what God’s word tells me truth is, found only in Jesus.
Life will always present opportunities to believe what is not true. What lies are you believing about yourself? Are you free? Do you have joy? Peace? What monkey sits on your shoulder, taunting you, nagging you, stirring negative thought and emotion?
You have lived enough life to know that we have an enemy, but doesn’t it make sense that if we have an enemy, we must also have a Savior?
His name is Jesus! He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Will you trust Him today?
Will you believe what He says?
Will you stand once more and believe that you were created to live?
Karolyn Burch is the wife of Mark Burch, senior pastor at Maple Ridge Baptist Church.