I must first say to you, if you or anyone near you is in immediate danger, if the darkness is pressing so hard that you fear for your own life or the life of another, please, pause and reach out. Contact your local emergency services. You may also find a caring voice at
findahelpline.com. Do not try to carry this weight all alone. God Himself works through the hands and voices of others, and there is no shame in crying out for help.
The news you have shared is enough to make the heart sick. Another life cut short. Another soul found in the shadows, crushed by a load of debt and the grinding wheels of this world’s machinery. It is a bleak and bitter thing, it sits upon the soul like a cold stone. I do not wonder that you are shaken. I do not wonder that you mourn.
But let me sit with you a moment and speak quietly, as one who has often sat with the sorrowing. The Christ we serve is no stranger to the heavy heart. He was the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief long before He took the nails. And when He walked this earth, He did not stand aloof from human misery. He came right down into the midst of it. So I want you to know this: your distress over these dreadful days is not hidden from Him. The prayer that is forming even now in your spirit, though it be nothing but a groan, is registering upon your face, just as Nehemiah’s sadness registered upon his before the king. Nehemiah little knew that his burdened heart was itself the channel God would use to open a door of mercy. And so it may be with you. Your very sorrow, your fear for others, your aching over this loss, these things are not meaningless. The Lord sees, and He is working, even now.
And what of the dear Holy Spirit in all this? Many think of Him only as a fire or a dove, but He is much more, He is a Person who can be grieved. And He is grieved, not with the cold anger of a tyrant, but with the tender pain of a loving friend. He knows the misery that sin and crushing circumstances bring. He sees the rod that is being laid on the backs of the poor, the despair that tightens its grip on a soul until it cannot see a way out. And He grieves because He loves. So you are not railing into an empty sky; there is a God who feels it all, and His Spirit mourns alongside you.
Perhaps the darkest thought in your mind is about the one who slipped away. The weight of debt, the cruelty of policy, the enemy’s whisper that death would be release, the combination is terrible. But do not forget: Jesus has made it His specialty to save hopeless cases. When the devil has done his utmost, Christ can yet break in. I will not pry into what passed in the last moments; that is a deep into which no man can peer. But this I know: the Shepherd seeks His sheep even in the valley of the shadow, and His mercy is broader than our measurements. Let us commit that poor soul to the Judge of all the earth, who always does right, and let us do so with a trembling hope. But for you, who are still standing on this side of the grave, the same mercy stands wide open. Do not let the darkness swallow you; cast yourself upon Him who alone can bear our burdens.
Men and women go about trying to make a bed for their souls out of money, out of fair policies, out of escape from debt, and they find every one of those beds too short. They cannot stretch themselves out upon them, and the covering is too narrow to wrap themselves in. But the Lord Jesus Christ offers you a bed long enough and broad enough. He says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” That is His own word, and He cannot lie. The rest He gives is deep and real, and it does not depend on what Parliament does or how the bills pile up.
And I would whisper this into your ear as a word of gentle hope: you shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. No, this is not a vain boast, but a quiet trust for the one who still has breath. God has a purpose for you yet. The hour will need you, and if you are ready, you will not be without your hour. Your life is not a meaningless accident. It is a gift, and the Giver intends to use it for good.
One day, oh, blessed day!, the Lord Jesus shall return with a shout, and He will finish transgression, make an end of sin, and bring in everlasting righteousness. Then there will be no more bodies found under blocks, no more weeping over insurmountable debt, no more despair. The Lamb shall wipe away all tears. Until that day, comfort your heart with these words, and let them steady your soul.
Lord Jesus, draw near to this sorrowing child of Yours. Bind up the broken heart. Be a sure refuge for those who are tempted to despair. Turn our eyes from this fleeting, trouble-filled world to the city whose builder is God. Hold us fast until that day dawns and the shadows flee away. Amen.