July 17: Of Taking Arms Against a Sea of Troubles

1 Chronicles 24:1-26:11

Romans 4:1-12

Psalm 13:1-6

Proverbs 19:15-16

   "To be, or not to be: that is the question.  Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them." - William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1

The circumstances surrounding Hamlet - the murder of his father, and his mother's hurried marriage to his father's brother - left him contemplating suicide, the otherwise abundance of his circumstances notwithstanding.  I mean, c'mon - he was a prince, for crying out loud.  How bad could things be? 

How long, Lord?  Will you forget me forever?  

     How long will You hide your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts 

     and day after day have sorrow in my heart?"  

- Ps 13:1-2

The thing about suicide, though, is that to those left behind, it rarely makes sense.  We never really know the circumstances that plant doubt in a person's mind and heart, we never see the doubt that grows and bears the fruits of hopeless and despair. 

I had to look up the data.  From 1999 to 2016, the suicide rate in the US rose 25%.  In 2017, "there were an estimated 1.4 million suicide attempts, and more than 47,000 deaths deaths by suicide, making it the tenth leading cause of death in the United States."  Per 100,000 population, the number rose 6%, from 13.7 in 2017, to 14.5 in 2019.  That last statistic is particularly jarring - in those three years, things were getting better in the US, for so many.

This year, though, isn't looking too good.  Worse, six months into pandemic and its attendance consequences, there still doesn't seem to be an end in sight.  I fear the numbers - of attempts, and deaths - rise even more sharply this year.  How do we fight back?

     How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer me, Lord my God.  

     Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, 

and my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"

     And my foes will rejoice when I fall.

- Ps 13:2-4

Two suggestions: know your enemy, and know your strength.  I find it helpful to remember that the enemy isn't me, it's Satan.  And he is trying to overcome me.  And then I find it doubly helpful to know that my strength isn't me either - it is the Lord my God.  It is HIS place to take arms against my sea of troubles - not mine.  

But I trust in Your unfailing love; 

     my heart rejoices in Your salvation. 

- Ps 13:5

Remembering who God is, we are then able to trust, and hope, in Him.  And then, while our circumstances might remain unchanged, because we know we can count on His salvation, we can rejoice. 

Father these are trying times.  But they are times You have ordained for us, out of Your perfect love for us, and Your desire for us to come back and enter into relationship with You.  Whenever anyone might be tempted by Satan to take things into our own hands, remind us to turn to You.  And when we do, help us to trust that You are in control.