When Is Enough Enough?

Psalm 107:10
Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery.

I have written on this subject before....pain. But truth is, pain is a part of life.
Now there are two kinds of pain....
#1- the kind that just seems to find each of us, forcing us to make decisions as to how best navigate the river we find ourselves floating down....
#2 - The kind that is self-inflicted because of our own choices we have made.

I think maybe pain is suppose to be a teacher.
That there are lessons to learned with each encounter. Trouble is, sometimes we are not good students and we don't always learn what we are suppose to.
This leads us to becoming jaded and view pain and life in a bad way. We become victims, excusing our bad behavior and choices on the pain we have felt which invaded our lives.

My favorite quote of all time comes from a song written by Pat Terry....

"And it's funny how pain can touch you.....

And it only makes you better, or it robs you heart and soul...

All and all it defines the separation....

Between growing up....

And growing old..."

I began receiving text messages last night around 10:30 p.m....

Rambling messages....with cryptic references about life...
But the thought behind the rambling was that life is so painful that suicide seemed to be the answer.
The messages came rapid fire, each one a little more dark than the last.

Trouble with texting is that you can't tell the emotion of the one sending it.
You are forced to kind of read between the lines in hopes of finding it such is a ploy of sympathy or they really have made this decision to end it all...

I know the one who sent it all too well.
Decades of bad decisions....living life on their terms, rather than working a program. They skirted the edges of sobriety, coming in from the storm for brief periods of time. I have watched as they slid down that dark ladder into the abyss, claiming they wanted help, but in truth only wanting to use those they came in contact with. 

Lots of prayer last night...
I prayed God's protection over them...
Prayed that God would disarm the darkness that was seeking to end the life of this individual...
Prayed that they might get arrested and take their choice away.

Like the prodigal son, I prayed that they might "Come to their senses" and return to God. 

I have no answers to the condition they are living in....
Any answers I have would not eliminate their need for change. A heart change.

If you are led to, then throw up a prayer for this person.
Pray that they would have a real-deal-come-to-Jesus encounter that would break through all the walls and moats they have created in their life.
As far as pain goes....when is enough enough?
That is the scary part in all of this.
The pain keeps coming like waves in the ocean to wash over us, yet we stand there taking it, rather than walking away from the beach.

Someone I respect greatly said, "When you're sick and tired of being sick and tired......then you'll do whatever it takes to move forward from your life situation." 

You'll find healing in Jesus...
You'll find relief in Jesus....
You'll find refuge in Jesus...
You'll find life in Jesus....

Get it?

God on you....

mbb