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88 Responses to “A Message To Anyone Feeling Desperate and Hopeless”
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Powerful! (shared on FB) Standing in agreement with you in prayer. Jesus gives hope to the hopeless and binds up the broken hearted.
BLESS YOU and THANK YOU, Miss Beth, for this very important exhortation. So timely. So critically important.
The story of Patrolman Kevin Briggs who helped some 200 people step down from the edge of the Golden Gate bridge is most compelling. I have no idea if he is a man who knows Jesus, but he tells about the TWO questions he asked people to open the discussion with these particularly desperate souls:
1. How are you feeling?
2. What are your plans for tomorrow? (can I help you make some?)
Simple enough, it seems. But these questions allowed him to focus and listen and bring just enough hope to people that they stepped down. Surely, they are the kinds of compassion questions that could help any of us sit with someone in deep pain, confusion, anguish or despair…sometimes listening can be the door to encouraging someone unto the help they most need. Ultimately God, who, in His Grace, allows human hands to hold each other and help each other.
My prayers this night, this season for those in despair and those who sit with them and help them find help…and healing.
Thanks for your message today. On one of your Tuesday night classes a couple of years ago, I came to the altar at FBC. I was devastated. The dam finally broke and all the tears, pain, guilt, and worry all came gushing out. I remember your praying for me and my daughter. My sister-in-law had just committed suicide 5 days before. About 6 months before, we found my father dead in his home about 3 days after his death (natural causes). About a month before her death, (she) said, “Well, maybe y’all will just find me at home the same way as your dad.” I told her that wasn’t funny and not to joke around like that….. I blew her off. To anyone out there engulfed in so much pain and depression, there really is so much devastation left in the wake behind you.
In this case I was also so tormented with worry because my daughter is bipolar and had quit taking her meds. She was also very close to her aunt. Suicide is contagious. When people see others with no hope and that just give up, they decide it’s okay to do the same. I pulled my daughter over to the casket and then told her to look around at all the family and friends so racked with pain and guilt. “This is the face of suicide”, I told her. By God’s wonderful grace, my daughter restarted her meds.
Our family has taken a long time to heal. My husband and his brother still are not “sure she is with God”. I truly believe God was never closer to her than he was the moment she took her final breath.
I urge your readers to do as you suggest. Get help. There are times you need someone to help pull you out of the pit. You really can’t do it all alone.
Thank you. Many times you and LPM has spoken HOPE, faith, love over me by God’s Truths given and lived out before me through your ministry and by Bible studies and your books mentoring me!, even though I don’t personally know you! Many times you helped me say no to suicide and gave me hope to believe! Thank you! Thank you for caring! Ty for prayers, for info, for outreach, reminders… that there are desperate people needing Hope! The LORD showed me many women are suicidal as I was because of past sexual sin or abortion. So many women like me who have had abortions (forced or voluntary) that feel hopeless. Knowing Christ FORGIVES ANY REPENTED SIN gave me hope! You taught and teach God’s forgiveness of sin and THE GOSPEL message … CHRIST’s work on my behalf freed me! JESUS gave me true life and hope and convinced me of His forgiveness and worked miracles through you, Beth, to teach me the NEW COVENANT!
I have two friends in danger of suicide currently. I am doing all I know to help them both. I often pray for suicidal to get help..to change minds… turn to LORD.
Thank you for this great outreach!
Happy Thanksgiving to you who give so much. You are and have always been a blessing.
Thank you. I’m only 21 and my life feels pretty hopefulness right now but I know there is hope in Jesus. He is hope. I don’t know if God really wants to help my circumstances but maybe that’s just the enemy speaking.
Stopped to pray for you Casey! I know God doesn’t just want to help with your circumstances, but He is walking through them with you. Look for tiny miracles every single day, I’m sure you’ll see Him there. Keep holding on to Him, yes, He is our hope!
Casey, sometimes it’s really, really hard to face the day. And in those times, you just have to keep breathing, realizing that it is God giving you those breaths. Sometimes, when we think we’re losing our hold on Him, that’s when His hold on us is the strongest. He won’t let go. I promise.
Casey, I am 49, and at 21, I thought I had the world by the tail. I have not always lived the way I should, although I have recently renewed my commitment to God and begun attending church again. After a bout of serious depression a year or so ago, my world turned upside down. I was an only child, my parents are both deceased, and I had never felt so alone and lost in my life. There was God though, just waiting to take my hand and lead me through it. During that time, I learned that sometimes things don’t always end up like we thought they would, the fairy tale isn’t what it appeared to be, and when it does, that’s God. His answer, His ending, His beginning, His will. Never give up hope, you are never alone, He is always by your side. One of my favorite poems is “Footprints In The Sand”, it’s too long to post here, but if you’ve never read it, please look it up. Praying for you!
Oh Beth,
So needful! From one who walked it the shoes of the hopeless. From one who saw each day almost too painful to live out. From one who heard voices saying “end it” in a hideous chant a chant so loud I was afraid to be home alone. From one who stared down the barrel of her son’s hunting rifle more than once…..
I was a Christian all my life but filled my mind with so much negativity, and swallowed too much medication to even think straight!
Yes even we who are and have tasted that the Lord is good can have a real fall into a pit of self pity and despair. BUT like you said Beth there is hope. I rose above it. Now every morning is a new adventure to see what the Lord has for me to do. I am medication free for over four years. My psychiatrist marvels at how my life has changed and tells many of his patients the change in my life. Recovery can be long and difficult. It is different for everyone for me one day I just realized I needed to take Philippians chapter four as my mantra for life so I filled my mind with positives, got involved with a neighborhood Bible group, studied my Bible and things turned around for me. Indeed I can do all things through Christ which gives me strength.
So to everyone out there who feels life holds little hope any more reach out for help life can be better than you could ever imagine.
I told my doctor one day that if I got to the end of my life and I found all of Christ was a farce it would still have been worth my believing in Him for the peace and joy the knowledge has given me. I know, though, without a shadow of a doubt He is real! His presence never ceases to amaze me. It comforts me when I hurt, it soothes even the worst soul pain, it(His presence) gives me hope when all around me things are looking hopeless.
These next few weeks there will be more depression than any other time of the year but interestingly enough more suicide happens in the spring and so it was for me. When everything spoke of new life, I saw only death.
Praise God for the lifting of the cloud of despair and the sunshine! The sun always shines it’s just hidden by clouds for a season.
From one who lost hope but found all good things again in Christ!
Love to you all at LPM!
Betty M
Thank you for your testimony, Betty!
Much love,
Audrey
Thank you! I am nearly 55 yrs old and only during the past 3 yrs have suffered a desperate lonilness and depression upon the arriving in the menopausal stage of life. My depair took me to a place of trying to end my life. But my sweet friend Linda Childers, who walks so closely to God…listened to Him and just showed up to love me and support me, even when I was unloveable and didn’t want help. She dragged me to our church women’s Bible Study with Beth Moore. Although my depression goes up & down. I KNOW my God is holding my hand and whispering to me to rest my head against His chest and be comforted. He chose me and loves me and will use all of me for His purpose. He is the great healer and creator of us all.
Thank you for your compassion and for your listening heart to all God has for you. For the gentle spirit of showing us how to live for God.
I am praying for you and your family as God directs and uses you for His purposes.
In His hands,
Desiree Loporchio
Santa Clarita, Ca
Thank you for this Miss Beth. I will be sharing this message so more can hear about hope in Him.
That was so nice … especially this time of year. I’m sure your heart has touched many by that message.
Blessings,
Linda
Thanks for being so real and so compassionate. May someone who needs to hear your wise words stumble upon this video,
As a 51 year old woman, I have struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts since I was a child. Currently, I am 2 days out of a self-inflicted emotional beat-down. Today with a clear head I can say “I am worthy of life” and believe it. Less than a week ago, I was searching the Internet for answers to the question “will I go to hell if I kill myself.” I am a Christian who has been baptized…I have been saved by the blood of my Lord Jesus. Thru His mercy and grace, I am again standing with the warmth of the Son within my heart and mind. Had He abandoned me during those 2 weeks? Of course not. It was I who abandoned Him! But I kept my toe in the water so to speak, because I left my television continually tuned to TBN or Daystar day and night. So even as I searched for an answer to my death, there was ALWAYS a voice speaking the truth about who I am in Christ. One of those voices was you, Miss Beth. You spoke about Moses and the Jewish people with the Red Sea in front of them and the enemy behind. You said that God put himself between the enemy and the Jews until Moses got his head together to listen and part the sea! I am on the other side of the sea now…safe on dry land giving praise to God for His word, His Son, and people like you who have committed their lives to bringing people to Christ; reminding us who we are in Christ.
To anyone who is reading this and are struggling — we know from experience that there are no perfect words that will instantly heal us. Medicine helps, it doesn’t cure. Wether this is your first battle or your thousandth, remember this: when it is quite literally raining and storming outside…When the snow is 6 feet deep… the sun is till shining behind those clouds. You see, the rain doesn’t change the sun. In the same way, our depression, our misery, does not change the Son’s love for us. No matter what you have done, no matter what has been done to you – Jesus is loving you. Turn on a Christian radio station or TV network…. Miss Beth, Joseph Prince, Third Day, Casting Crowns,…their voices will cast satan away! Please find a bible verse or verses to comfort you..commit it to memory and recite it when you wake up during the night. Trust me, there is nothing more powerful than the Word of God.
One more thing, if I may: close your eyes and think of the person who you love the most, a relative, a friend, a spouse, significant other. Maybe it’s your kitty or dog. Really feel that love you have for them. ….. Once you feel it strongly, think of this: God loves you more than that! You are more important to Him than the strongest love you have for anyone else. Talk to Him…I promise He loves you.
Thank you for posting this! I was just checking e-mail and feeling a little down and just let your prayers wash over me.
Um. Just saved my life.
Dear Sara,
We love you and want you to know that you are so valued. We are praying for you, dear one.
Wow! Praying for you right now, Sara! I also pray that you have people near you who can help. God still wants you here for a purpose!
I was waiting today for this blog post. Thank you for your seriousness. I need some Sunday seriousness. Life appears all fun and games for everyone else through the gaze of the silent suffering one. Sometimes on Sunday morning I miss entering into church quietly like I did as a child in the Catholic church. It can be so lonely in the crowd to be struggling with blackness inside my very being while insensitivity insults me at every turn in today’s hyperactive audience. Thank you for your compassion and mercy that gives me breathing room tonight.
Praying for you Pam. Praying that you are a peaceful beam in your sphere of influence. “”Be still, and know that I am God.”
Beth,
Thank you for caring. I am going through one of the most difficult times of my life. I have had suicidal thoughts, and the only thing that has stopped me is my 4 children. My husband is an alcoholic, and at age 33, is sitting in an ICU at a hospital here in Pittsburgh PA…the past 4.5 years of abuse of all kinds on top of serious financial issues, and my health problem have all been eating away at my heart, soul, mind, and strength.
I know God allows us to go through trials, and the Bie says that God allows these to happen, because we live in a fallen world… my hearts cry of agony to the Lord has been “have strong do You think I am? Do You hate me? Why does it feel like I have been deserted Father?”
I neded this tonight, and just want to say thank you again
My heart goes out to you. I pray you know you are loved despite your HARD circumstances and feelings. Sometimes it takes such faith to believe His Love bc the feelings of unlove or abandonment are so famiar or real!. Praying for you.
Dear Christina,
I recently heard Dr. Charles Stanley say that our trials increase our faith & the stronger our faith, the more valuable we are in the Kingdom of God. He referred to 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NASB)
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
Christina, I know that God does not hate you, but just the opposite He loves you more than you can imagine. As for your trials and hardships, Romans 8:28 tells us that God causes all things [not some things or even most things but ALL things] to work together for good to those who love God. (I also heard this from Dr Stanley.) So when Satan tries to convince you that you can’t handle this or God hates you, remember God loves you & has chosen you. He knows exactly how strong you are & is using your trials to build you up for something important for His Kingdom. It’s probably already in the works & you don’t even realize it but for Satan to come at you so hard, he must be panicked at what God is working in you.
Please dear Jesus have mercy on Christina and help her. I ask this in Your holy and awesome name.
Amen! Beth, Amen! God bless you!
Thank you Beth,
I know that this will reach many people and I am praying that they
all come home to Him who is willing and able to take all of their
pain and bring joy into their brokenness.
Bless you
I used to follow your blog everyday but had blocked it a while back from my outlook because my life has been so busy and frazzled but i was checking my email on my phone and was in the process of deleting it when i saw the topic and stoppef to listen because i am feeling desperate and hopeless and alone
I needed this reminder and prayer that i am valuable and God does have a plan for my life
I know you get countless prayer requests but please if you read this post say a quick one for me
For ears to hear God will in the decisions i have to make and guidance and grace
Because of my faith I know His live for me but when you r so alone and overwhelmed i dont always feel it—I truly need to feel Gods love today and i believe He used your message to do just that
God bless
Dear Terry,
I am praying right now for you. I am praying for you to have guidance and for your steps to be guided by the grace of Jesus. We love you so much.
thank you…although not suicidal….really felt like giving up on something this morning that if I continue in….really means death to me.
Kevin Hines came to speak at the VA about his jump off the Golden Gate Bridge and gives God all the glory for saving his life. Amazing story one must read. Gods hands were all over his survival.
Stephanie RN at DSM VA
Thank you. I woke to this and it was truly a Godsend. I’m an older person who often feels like I am just wasting away. I live alone a lot of the time, and this is a tough time of year. I wish I felt like I had a purpose. I pray regularly, read the bible, and love God immensely. Just wish I felt like there was a reason for me to be here….. I lost my job several months ago and have not really found another one…..this is such a challenge. Thank you for your owrds and message of hope!
Dear Kim,
You are so treasured and valued. I am praying for you as you read the Bible, for the Lord to delight you and reveal Himself to you like never before through that time with Him. We are so honored to pray for you and we love you.
Can I make a suggestion? There are so many organizations that need you! Find a place to volunteer. I chose the Crisis Pregnancy Center. A shelter, a nursing home, a hospital, there are so many ways to reach out and fill those hours. And sometimes, a job comes from the volunteering. You will find you don’t have enough hours in the day! You will be so blessed!
Dear Kim,
I wrote an earlier post here about my battles with suicide and depression that I have been able to rise above purely by God’s grace and tender mercy. This time of year it is so easy to focus on what we don’t have. For those of us who have little family left it seems especially dark and dreary. If we can take the focus off ourselves for just a short while and think of someone who has less and try to make a day a bit brighter for them it helps. Volunteering at a food pantry or visiting a nursing home, things like this are so needed and appreciated at this time. It is so easy to wonder about life but finding purpose is in looking outward and upward. Sometimes purpose comes in the most unlikely of places. For me it was teaching Sunday School! I am not a grand mother and have never been especially close to kids but there was a need so I stepped up to the plate! What a joy it has been! Our Sunday School is growing and I love telling those old stories I heard as a child to a whole new generation. So often there is a need for a grandparent figure in a young child’s life. Someone to read of Jesus to them and tell them how life was in the “olden days!” I hope this has spurred you a little to look around you for other lives in need of a touch.
I hope you can find this purpose because I can tell you it is there it just takes some searching!
Blessings to you,
Love in Jesus,
Betty
I love that you made this. It’s such an example of why I love you/LPM so much. Your heart for people is continually stunning.
Thank you, Beth, for reaching out to those who are desperate. This same subject has been on my mind for a while now knowing the statistics of suicide and having a family member succeed in the attempt. Praying God will use this message and the platform He has prepared for you to speak life and truth to many in the days ahead!
This message hit hard as I am on staff at a high school. We were faced with the news just yesterday morning that one of our students jumped to his death from a parking garage just the night before. The sight of students huddled in tight circles hugging one another and the sound of sobs echoing through the halls of the school will be etched in my memory for a long time to come. Please lift up the family of Tony Kirkpatrick (his name has been made public in our local paper) and the students and staff at East High School in Lincoln, Nebraska. This was the 3rd suicide in our town this week. Another teenager took his life and young woman just 28 years old. All so very tragic and hitting our community hard. Words cannot describe how we feel.
Dear Sabrina,
We are praying for your community. We are praying that the peace of Christ would be so evident to you and everyone affected right now. We are so sorry for this tragedy and will continue to pray for you. You are so loved.
Thank you Beth. Please pray for me.
Dear One, It is our honor to pray for you. Your life is so important and is so valued. We love you!
Praying for your precious one!!
Thank you for the message of hope. Just reading this morning in John 11 how Jesus entered into the pain Mary and Martha had over grieving their brother, Lazarus”, death. He was willing to “come and see” and weep too, being deeply moved. Then he went int action and gave life! Thank you God for bringing life and hope to our desperation!!
Beth,
I really needed to hear your message today. Thank you so much for your obedience to the Lord. I always look forward to hearing the wisdom that God gives you for others. God bless you Beth!
This really blessed me Beth. Thank u for what you and your ministry does. I am going to share this with a friend who needs hope….
I don’t know how to respond to this video Beth. It is something that has been on my heart recently.
I feel saddened by the increasing number of people who see suicide as the only way out of their circumstances. I travel a great deal with my work and there are definitely more people on motorway bridges and on the train tracks who are desperate, but are too often seen as only irritating as they delay the journeys of others.
We are the hands and feet of Jesus and we have to show His love and compassion to others. I pray for all who work directly with those who feel that they have no hope, particularly during this season. I pray that we never miss an opportunity to give a smile or a kind word or speak hope into the life of someone who is suffering.
Dear Beth,
Thank you so much for sharing “HIS” message of HOPE. This has been a consistent message, from HIM to me, in this particular season of my life.I have lived with mental torment all my life. This last week I was feeling so desperate and hopeless that I would ever see freedom in this area of my life. November 19th, I awoke and dug into the word and put a stake in the ground claiming freedom and HOPE IN HIM! He will guide and see me through to the other side of this. I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord, in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14 NIV
Blessings to you Beth, your famil and LPM
Such a great testimony, April! All glory to God. He is good!
Amen!
I was first introduced to beth by my good friend and sunday night discipleship class teacher Tracy Duke…in her class we are doing the Believing God study by Dvd..with all that is taught on there just know that Beth leads a Good example of how we need to live as Christians..yes i am a guy but shes ministering to everyone…Thank you for such a great Video!!!
This is God’s perfect timing….again. Thank you Jesus for this message of hope. I am praying for my sister who is in a very lonely, sad place after a recent divorce. I am trying to encourage her in The Lord to turn to him and allow Him to redeem this situation. I have experienced this in my own life and know, like Beth that He is the only one that can save and redeem us. Praying the Holy Spirit would do the same work for her and show her she is valuable and loved. Thank you Beth! This message really did come at the perfect time!
Thank you, Beth! God bless you! I really needed this today, to affirm God’s love for me when I feel a loss of hope
WEGM Such a very important point!
Happy Thanksgiving!
The JOY of the LORD is YOUR strength.
I LOVE YOU more!
The message in this video really resonated with me. I have been under circumstances where I have felt like my only option was to take my life too many times. Suicidal ideation became a consistent thing by the time I reached junior high. I started cutting as a way to turn my emotional pain to something physical and tangible. Part of my story is that when I was six years old, I was raped by a neighbor and I never told anyone until I turned 16. Circumstances left me feeling like I couldn’t tell anyone when it happened because it would add more stress and I needed to protect my mom from that. I was picked on and bullied by my peers and there was some emotional and physical abuse that happened at home as well. So by the time I was 16, I had felt enough. I made my first serious attempt on my life. I survived but still struggled with those thoughts and my self worth. I felt as though no one cared about me and that my existence was a mistake. I grew up craving love and acceptance and was still searching for those things after I graduated from high school and moved out. When a seemingly nice man seemed interested in me I went for it. That turned out to be a horrible mistake that wound up with me being in a situation that I could not get out of for a long time because of the control and power that he had over me. During that time I lost my will to live. I was daily forced to do unspeakable things that I did not want to do. All I could think about was escaping. What ever that meant. I stopped eating and grew weaker. When he was caught, I did not know what to do with myself or how to move forward. I did not see the point in living and so I continued with not eating and also restricting my fluid intake. Eventually I was hospitalized, and even there I still was trying to die. I did not think that I was going to live past my 25th birthday. The hospital I was at and my treatment team was not making any progress so they were getting a court order to send me to a state facility. I had been there before so ironically it was that, that made me start to change and work toward finding healing. I went through Mercy Ministries, and regained hope, found freedom and restored some dreams. I will not lie, life has been complicated at times since then but I have come so far since then. I went from being unable to see past the age of 25 to regaining hopes and dreams. Oh and by the way, I am now 28 years old. Reaching my 25th birthday was a huge milestone for me, and every birthday each year after, I am reminded of the hope and the faith that I have found since then. Each year is a blessing. I am not where I would like to be in life in relation to my age, but I am believing that God has a plan and purpose and that he does have a honorable godly man out there for me.
Another good resource is Al-Anon for people dealing with loved ones who have drug or alcohol issues. Great support!
once again i cannot hear your videos. the comments tell me a bit but would be great to be completed with the whole story…
I am sorry you ar heaving difficulty hearing the video sound Kathy. Maybe try a different computer, or perhaps you have a friend that could help?
Thank you for such a beautiful message of hope to a hurting world! So thankful for this ministry. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
To all those feeling desperate and hopeless this season of your life. I pray with all my heart that the comfort, the love and the hope we have in Christ will fill your heart to overflowing in ways you never expected. He was forsaken so we would never have to be..
Thank you. What a beautiful message. As someone who struggles with chronic depression and anxiety (and yes, I am a believer), this was so encouraging. I was hospitalized twice many years ago for being suicidal and this would have been just what I needed then. Bless you, mama Siesta, for your ministry. I pray this video will be passed around cyberspace and speak to the ones that need to hear it most. Our Shepherd carries the wounded lambs in His arms. Bless you.
Thank you, Beth. My precious mom took her own life 8 months ago today on the night of her birthday.
Dear Robin,
I am so sorry to know of your loss. I am praying for you! You are so loved.
Re: Children of the Day…….I am TRA in Deland, Florida
Thank you so much, Beth. I can so relate to the negative words that I listen to for years. I even had someone close to me tell me how to shoot myself without living as to be in a vegetable state, when all I really wanted to know is that someone cared and loved me.
It is God who is my security, my acceptance and my hope. He is the One I trust and He is the One I go to when I am so desperate. God is my comfort, my encourager and my joy! He listens to my prayers and He is my strength! There is none like Him.
Praying also for others that are struggling. God bless you. in Christ
Thank you Beth, your soft, compassionate heart shows in all that you do and say…Thank you for caring….I posted this to my FB page hoping it will be shared and save a life for Christ or anything in desperation…
The sound isn’t working on my computer. Could use some encouragement. I’ll read the comments when I get a chance. I need God’s peace. God will not forsake us. We are His forever.
OH Sweet Beth, Thank you for your words. Such a powerful message especially this time of year! Love and blessings to you all!
Dear Siesta Mama & sisters,
Just wondered if you wouldn’t mind saying a little prayer for me and my family? My brother passed away this morning. He heard the gospel many times, but never accepted Christ. I will miss him. Love to all of you.
Mary G.
Oh Mary, I am so very sorry for this fresh loss of your brother! Yes, of course…praying God’s undeniable peace and comfort to you. He loves you so much!
Thank you Beth for speaking such a needed message. My 22 year old son died of suicide. He was loved so dearly but just couldn’t see it. I know that your message will help many people.