Read Psalm 68:5

Several years ago, a couple was enjoying a drive along a wooded section near Belle Chasse, Louisiana. Something white in the trees caught their eyes. Their investigation led them to a dead teenager hanging from a limb, a white bedsheet knotted tightly around his neck. A farewell note, laced with despair, was near the trunk of the tree. It was addressed simply to “Mom and Dad.”

I never did develop into a real person and I cannot tolerate the false and empty existence I have created.... What frustrated me most in the last year was that I had built no ties to family or friends. There was nothing of lasting worth and value. I led a detached existence.... I am a bomb of frustration and should never marry or have children. It is safest to defuse the bomb harmlessly now.... Simply cremate me.

Authorities circulated the youth’s description and fingerprints to police across the country. He was later buried—unidentified and unclaimed.

Suicide plays no favourites and knows no limit. In my files and memory are unforgettable cases that span the extremes: a successful banker, a disillusioned divorcée, the son of a missionary, a mother of three, a wealthy cartoonist, a professional musician, several collegians, a Marine, a retired grandfather, a medical doctor, a middle-aged broker, a grieving husband, a brilliant accountant, a growing number of teens. These individuals struggled with feelings of rejection, worthlessness, insecurity, a lack of hope, intense perfectionism, alienation from meaningful relationships, a tragic sense of feeling unloved and unlovely, and especially loneliness.

Thankfully, the Lord has a heart for the lonely:

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—this is God, whose dwelling is holy. (Psalm 68:5)

That should represent our heart too—especially for those who are lonely. We have a unique opportunity to stem the rising tide of suicide and depression by being the hands and feet of Christ. And teaching our kids to be the same.

The need is urgent. During the time it took you to read this, numerous people in America attempted to end their lives. Several succeeded. How can you and your family make a difference today?

Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord...Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.

The full devotional can be purchased at https://www.tyndale.com/p/good-morning-lord-can-we-talk/9781414380681.