Nov 12th, 2023: Facing Unexplainable Suffering

Yesterday, I joined a friend and his family at an event to celebrate his son's life. He passed away according to his own will a few weeks ago. I didn't know the young fellow well, but from what I knew, he was gifted, kind, intelligent, and caring. He lived his life with dreams and much anguish at the same time.

Dealing with suicide has taken me to a place where I understand God's compassion and faithfulness in a different dimension. Scripture tells me that God identifies with us in our suffering. Nothing we go through in this life is foreign to God. He knows the condition of our heart and the status of our mind. As I prayed after learning about his passing, I was once again reminded of the darkness Jesus had to endure to take on our human brokenness. Even in our deep darkness, we are not alone.

Sometimes it is better to remember a person in terms of how they lived and not how they died. I have no doubts that my friend's son touched many lives before he passed away. In the sorrowful moments of pain, I am grateful for how God created him and walked with him until he passed away. Now I trust in God's unfathomable mercy and great understanding as I continue to engage in unexplainable human suffering.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you." - Isaiah 43:2