Suicide: Warning Signs and How to Help

So, we met on the 3rd floor last night for the first time since Covid-19 swept across the globe. It was a bittersweet experience since we didn't have PI making amazing FroZones for everyone. Maybe we will get up there one more time before he leaves and convince him to make us all drinks. We'll see.

We saw some old faces, we saw some new faces, we saw some young faces, and we saw some masked faces. With the Governor's decision to lift the mask mandate starting tomorrow, we won't see as many masked faces moving forward. My hope, however, is that even after social distancing restrictions are removed, people continue to respect the personal space of others. Who's with me on this?

Last night we tackled a topic most serious: suicide. Most of what we talked about can be found in this article on Life Church's website, but I would like to quickly summarize some of the key points that were made (especially since I think you need an account to view the article).

Firstly, let's talk about how prevalent (important) this issue is in our society today. In the late 1990's suicide rates among young people were actually declining (less people were taking their own lives). However, in the last two decades this has reversed and suicide rates among young people have been on the rise. Right now, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among young people, the #1 cause being accidents. Back in 2016, more people in the U.S. died by suicide than by homicide - that means more people were taking their own life than were having it taken by someone else. That's disheartening, to say the least. In the next 24 hours, approximately 1,439 teenagers will attempt suicide, and about 80% of students who die by suicide never contact mental health services (they don't reach out for help).

This is a real problem in our society. Our young people are so disillusioned about life here on this earth, and so disheartened by the state of the world that they would rather take themselves out of it than remain. They see no bright future, no hope or reason to continue, so they opt out. Something needs to be done. Someone needs to do something. WE need to do something!

**I don't necessarily recommend watching the show "One Tree Hill" as there are a lot of twisted themes and perspectives throughout it, but if you want to see a powerful depiction of the kind of hopelessness that leads a young person to end their life, watch Season 3, Episode 16 - "With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept". I don't want anyone to go through the kind of hopelessness, depression, and despair that the student in this episode experienced.**

Signs to Watch Out For:

- Changes in eating habits

- Sad or depressed mood

- Loss of energy, motivation, or interest (especially in things they are usually passionate about)

- Withdrawal and increased isolation

- Statements about hopelessness, worthlessness, or self-harm

When you begin to see these signs in someone (or in yourself) then it is time to ask for help.

I'd like to note that it is okay to be sad. Sadness is a feeling we have in response to things we face in everyday life like loss of a loved one, frustrations, or even just a sad movie (or episode, as mentioned above). Depression, on the other hand, goes way beyond a feeling. It is debilitating (it controls your mood and mindset very negatively) and it is seemingly impossible to get out of. When you are looking for the signs mentioned above, depression is when sadness doesn't seem to go away. It is when sadness lasts for weeks, into months, possibly into years when left unchecked.

We noted last night that the church is a safe place to open up. People get this idea that church is where perfect people go, but actually, the opposite is true. When people come to believe in Jesus Christ, they admit that they are not perfect and that they need saving. Church is for imperfect, hurting people to come and experience God's love and mercy. And it is a safe place to open up about what is really going on under the surface. When someone is depressed, they usually feel alone, detached, and disconnected from others. The problem is, our go-to response to this is further isolate ourselves - which of course makes it even worse. When we or someone we know is depressed, it is vitally important to find a way to connect with someone else. Reach out to a leader, a trusted friend, or a family member. Don't stay isolated.

Some things you can do to help when you start to see the signs listed above in someone:

1. Ask questions. Open up a conversation, and don't be afraid to mention that you are concerned about them. Let them know you care and are available to talk if they are willing.

2. Listen. Don't just ask, listen to their answers.

3. Be there. Sit with them and let your presence be a reminder that they are not alone. Sometimes we don't know what to say, and that's okay because sometimes we don't need to say anything - we just need to be there.

4. Help them connect. You cannot do it alone. Don't try to help them by yourself, instead, try to get them connected with a larger support system: friends, family, medical professionals (if necessary), pastors, and/or counselors.

5. Pray. This is the single most important thing you can do. Pray with them, pray for them, pray over them. Just pray. Believe in the power of prayer and know that God hears us.

The last things we talked about was hope. One of the leading causes of depression (when not a medical issue) is a sense of hopelessness. People look out at the world around them and decide it is not worth living in - that somehow, it is better to die. As Christians, we know the one Person who can offer hope in this dark, broken world: Jesus Christ. He offers to give us salvation from our sins, purpose for our lives here on earth, and the hope of everlasting life with God when this life is over. We talked about 3 points from the Bible that give us hope:

1. God loves and values us. Check out Psalm 139:13-16, Romans 5:8, and John 3:16 to see what the Bible has to say about this.

2. God has an amazing plan for our lives. Check out Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28.

3. God can give us the strength to overcome any struggle. Check out Psalm 46:1-2, Psalm 9:9-10, and Isaiah 40:29-31.

There is nothing we can do earn God's love, He just loves us. And there is nothing we can do to lose God's love, either. We always have hope and we can always rely on Him.

When we come alongside someone who is struggling with depression and thoughts of suicide, it is important for us to share this hope. If the person is a Christian, remind them of these things. If they are not a Christian, share the message about Jesus - it is the most hope you can offer them in this world. Then, remind them that they are not alone.

If you have questions about what to do, resources, or next steps in regard to helping someone struggling with these kinds of thoughts, please ask those questions in the comments below. If you need advice, prayer, or support, please reach out to me, to a friend, to someone.

God bless yall.

Anxious Much?

 What is anxiety? This past Wednesday we took a closer look at what anxiety is, what it does to us, and what causes it. Then we dove into the Word of God to find out how we, as believers in Jesus Christ, should handle anxiety. Spiritual leaders often tell us to look at the Bible for answers to life's questions, and yet usually that's not our gut reaction. Why look to some old book when my friends are right here? But, when it comes to the difficulties of life, who should we trust more - the God who created this world or our friends who have about as much life experience as we do? The obvious answer to that question is that we should trust God more. But do we? Do we trust that God knows our problems and how to deal with them the right way?

Hopefully, if you are reading this, you are at least curious to know what the Bible has to say about handling anxiety in life. So, let's take a look at what we discussed at the Summit last Wednesday.

Anxiety defined: "Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness." Notice that it doesn't say "or" there. Anxiety is all of these things mixed together.

What does it do?

Some of the effects of anxiety: sweating, feeling restless and tense, rapid heartbeat, trembling, breathing rapidly (hyperventilation), weakness or feeling tired, difficulty concentrating, trouble sleeping, a tendency to avoid the triggers (avoiding thinking about what you're anxious about), etc. Feel free to add in some of your own experiences of when you get anxious. Usually, anxiety causes different effects for different people. When I get anxious, for example, I get sweaty, tense, I feel weak and I have trouble sleeping. In an attempt to "avoid the triggers" I will try to distract myself by watching a show or playing an immersive game. What does anxiety do to you?

Now, sometimes anxiety can be a good thing - it can force us to prepare for things to come (like when we are anxious about a big test so we go overboard on the studying) or it can light a fire under our butts to start working on a paper before the deadline. Unfortunately, anxiety is usually a bad thing. It paralyzes us from doing anything other than worrying. We call this crippling anxiety. The feelings of fear, dread, and uneasiness are so strong that we get physically sick or just feel trapped and unable to do anything.

Does anxiety ever solve our problems, though? No. Worrying, by itself, doesn't solve anything. Like, I can worry about my test all I want, but unless I actually study for it, that worrying isn't going to help me get a better grade. Or, I can worry all I want about the church van breaking down on its way to HCBC, but worrying isn't going to stop it from happening. <= I proved this on our second attempt last year as I worried about the van breaking down, and it still broke down...

What causes anxiety?

The short answer: stress. Anxiety (and worry) is a natural response to stressful situations like a problem at work, a test at school, relationship drama in your friend group, or an upcoming important decision. Sometimes anxiety can be caused by a medical issue (although this is rare). As I said earlier, anxiety is a form of fear. It shows up when we are worried about something, something that we feel like we can't control. Its that feeling we get when we don't know what's going to happen.

How do we deal with it?

Here is where we start looking to God's Word. Before we do, though, I want you to do something. I want you to think about a situation that gives you anxiety. What are you dealing with right now that is making you anxious? Is your friend group going through a fight? Are you having trust issues with a boyfriend/girlfriend? Is it something at home, either with your parents or siblings? Maybe you're just worried about what your future is going to look like. Whatever it is, I want you to have a specific situation in mind as we look at what God has to say about dealing with our anxiety. Do you have it? Good.

The passage we are about to read together is a familiar one to many Christians, and honestly, I think it gets taken out of context too much in the church. The book of Philippians is a letter written by the apostle Paul to a church in the city of Philippi. He talks about a lot of good stuff like the mindset of a Christian, how Christians should interact with each other and with the world, and what our priorities should be. And here, as he is getting to the conclusion of his letter, he gives this advice to Christians as they experience trouble in this world.

Philippians 4:4-7 - "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Let's walk through this advice together, step by step. First, he says to rejoice. This is so important that he feels the needs to repeat himself! REJOICE! What do we have to rejoice about? Well, think about your life right now: what are some good things you have to be thankful for? Some things that bring you joy? We have life, that is cause for celebration in and of itself (why else do we celebrate birthdays, after all?). We continue to have breath in our lungs. Through Jesus Christ we have a restored relationship with God, life everlasting, and the promise of an unending future with God. We have a family (who may be troubling at times, but they are usually there for us in one way or another). We have friends (some better than others). We have access to education, food, clean water, a roof over our heads. As we get more specific, we find many more things to rejoice over than we probably thought at first. Paul says that the first step to dealing with anxiety is to rejoice - to think about the joy in our lives.

We can also rejoice because of what Paul says next: "the Lord is near". We can rejoice because God is near us. And we can choose not to be anxious about anything because the Lord is near. Even as you are reading this, God is there with you. He is on your side. And if God is for us, then who can be against us?

This next part is the "famous" part, and gets quoted a lot: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation..." pray. Paul's advice here is not to just "stop worrying". That's not exactly what he means when he says "do not be anxious about anything". Instead, its more of a "rather than be anxious about this or that situation, pray about it". Remember, anxiety is a form of fear. Being anxious about something means that we are afraid of what is going to happen. So, instead of being afraid, pray about it, ask God to step in, and trust that God is in control.

Then what happens? "And the peace of God...will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." When we follow this process, we will find peace. The situation may or may not be resolved, yet we can have peace of mind because we know and trust that God is in control, so we don't need to be afraid anymore. We don't need to worry anymore (especially since worrying won't actually change anything).

So, in dealing with anxiety, we need to move along this path:

1. Rejoice - find what's good in your life and rejoice in it.

2. Remember (remind yourself) that the Lord is near. God has not abandoned you. He is right there with you, even now. He is there even when you can't feel Him there. Let that comfort you.

3. Identify what you are anxious about and pray to God that He would handle the situation. Entrust it to Him. Stop worrying about the situation and trust that it is in God's hands.

4. Embrace God's peace. Peace is like the opposite of worry. I often picture it as the calmness of the sea after Jesus calmed the storm in Matthew 8:23-27 (go read it if you want).

Now, let's read the next few verses in Philippians 4: "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

You ever notice how when someone tells you not to think about something, it becomes the only thing you can think about? Anxiety is just like that. If I said, "Just don't worry about it", or as the New Yorkers say "Forget about it", would you just stop worrying about it? Would you forget about it? NO! Of course not! Paul doesn't just say, "Hey, forget about it." He says to stop thinking about this, and start thinking about that, instead! He says to stop thinking about the situation you're anxious about, and instead start thinking about the things of God. Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy - think about those things.

All of this comes down to a mentality shift. When we are suffering from anxiety, it means we are solely focused on what could happen - usually what we are afraid is going to happen. Then, we become paralyzed because we feel like we can't do anything about it! The Bible tells us to stop. Stop focusing on what might happen, and what you cannot control, and start thinking about what God promises will happen, and what He can control. As Christians, we have already trusted God with our souls and our eternal future. We know that God wins in the end, and we are on the winning side. So, why can't we trust Him with everything else?

Do you still have that specific situation in mind? You know, the one I asked you to think about before we looked at Philippians? Okay, what I want you to do is to walk through these steps with that situation.

1. Rejoice - make a list of things in your life that you are thankful for (and don't settle for just what I listed above, try to be more specific to what you have).

2. Remind yourself that God is near. We are forgetful, and often forget that God is always with us. As anxiety creeps in, remember that God is next to you and you can talk to Him about it.

3. Identify what you are anxious about (name it and be specific about the situation). What are you worried is going to happen? Once you have named it (this works best by either writing it out, or speaking it out loud), talk to God about your fears. Talk to Him about the situation, what you fear might happen, and your feeling powerless to do anything. Turn it over to Him as you talk, saying something like "God, I can't do anything about this, but I know You can. I know You know what is going to happen. I trust that You are in control and that no matter what happens, You have my back."

4. Embrace the peace of God. As you are talking to God about your situation, you are allowed to ask for peace. But, even if you don't specifically ask for it, when you entrust your situation to God, His peace will come to you. For me, it usually feels like a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders. What's weird is that most of the time, nothing about the situation has actually changed. The situation is still the same, its my mindset that is different. I am no longer looking at it from a "what if" perspective, but rather from a "God's got this" perspective. 

5. "Think about such things" and "put it into practice". Move on. Don't linger in the worry and anxiety. Look to what God is doing in the world, or perhaps even in the situation you were anxious about, and go join Him.

I hope this has been helpful to you. I hope that you are able to let go of your anxiety and turn it over to God. And I hope you are able to move on with your life, to move forward. In the comment below I have shared some additional verses from the Bible that touch on this topic of anxiety. I hope they are helpful to you as well. I have found that talking about our anxieties with other believers can also help, so if you need to talk, just reach out.

Need a Leash?

Last night was our first Summit of 2021 and we had a great crew of people come out to join us. We tried to set up a Zoom call for those who couldn't join us in-person, but lets just say technical difficulties were had. We played some old youth group classics as far as games go: 4 Square and Kickball. Both were pretty fun, though I was reminded yet again that I am SO out of shape. Seriously, I need to start jogging daily or doing something involving moving around. Tbh, I've been sitting in my office staring at a computer screen for the past 3 hours straight... that CAN'T be good.

Anyway, it has been almost a whole year since our last visit to Rock Mountain Bible Camp, and my, what a year it has been. It took me until now to realize just how timely our theme was for that retreat - Call of Duty: Spirit Ops. DW came as out speaker and shared about the reality of spiritual warfare and our need for protection, unpacking some of the pieces of spiritual armor mentioned in Ephesians 6. Seriously though, this entire year has been one long spiritual battle, and we really needed that armor. Between Covid-19, quarantine, and civil unrest, there has been so much anger, hate, fear and panic saturating our country and filling our lives. These were the reasons why God gave us His armor in Ephesians 6, because He knew we would be fighting for our lives this year.

After meeting with many of you over the past several months, I have learned that we have all had some struggles in our relationship with God in 2020. Many have strayed pretty far from God, others have panicked and given in to fear, and still others are even a little apathetic towards God right now. Last night I shared something that my cousin had posted to Facebook regarding spiritual warfare. Here is that post:

“New year... same me coming at you with long posts. I just want to come on here and say that this post is more for me to come back and look at later.

Let me be honest. My brain is literally broken. While I was in the shower today I got more excited about something than I have gotten in a while. 

Today, I was able to make a dog training analogy that reminded me of Jesus, and God, and it made my heart happy. Mainly because it combined two of my favorite things in the whole wide world. 

Years back, I was in a dog training program, and for the last few weeks I was to bring in my dog for group training sessions. During this time, I witnessed my dog Scruffy panic a lot. We would do well with the start of training sessions. When it was just me and Scruffy in a quiet area he did so well. He was settled, and he was calm. As soon as I would bring Scruffy out and interact with other dogs, he would panic. I tried every training trick in the book to settle him. I tried redirecting his focus back to me through shuffling my feet, making funny noises, whispering his name, and treats. Nothing worked. He would still panic until everyone else backed away, or until we went back to our own separate spot. 

Finally, after try and try again, I was taught a new technique. When Scruffy panicked, I was taught to let the leash go as far as it could go. Still keeping my hand on it, but letting the leash go as far as it could go. Then, I was told to just stand there. Let Scruffy go nuts and panic. Let him bark it out, and let him, basically go crazy on the other side of the leash. The second... literally second, that Scruffy even glances in my direction, praise that. Throw a treat to him if I can. Basically, this cycle, letting him go nuts, and praising him when he looks at me, would continue for maybe 5 minutes. If I felt I had his attention long enough, then I could ask him to do simple commands for me. Sit, down, or, if he was capable, even a sit stay. It is a long process, but eventually, I knew he would look back at me and listen. 

Maybe I am wrong, but I feel the same thing can be said for Christians. Maybe I am wrong, but is it possible that Jesus is the one holding our proverbial leashes? There are times when we go astray from Jesus. There are times when we panic and so desperately want to run away. But is it possible, that Jesus is just waiting for us to calm down on the other side of the leash? Is it possible that He is just waiting for us to even just glance at Him? Is it possible that He just wants to praise us for just looking at Him? Oy. Is it possible, that the leash He holds will never break? Never?

Something else I want to say, is if you are struggling spiritually, with your relationship with Jesus... you are NOT too far gone. You really aren't. If you are struggling, speak out. Please do not be afraid. The worst thing you can do is keep your mouth shut. If you are noticing something is off in your journey with Jesus, SPEAK. It might sound like you are crazy, people might be annoyed with you, people might turn you away, but for real... speak up. Do not stay silent. Ask others to pray for you, and with you. Ask your pastors if you can talk with them. Ask your family for help, extra prayer, and to read Scripture with you. Please. Don't fight things on your own. It doesn't work well anyway. I can speak from experience. If you fight spiritual battles with Christian music, use Christian music. If you fight spiritual battles by talking to people, talk to people. However you fight, use it. Fight for the truth. 

Lean into Jesus, and don't fight it alone. To use an analogy that I love, when you are struggling with evil, ask your Husband, Jesus, to help you. Or, ask your Father, Jesus, to protect your Holy Spirit. Ask Him not to let you keep going astray. Be like a child, and ask the Father to protect you from the evil coming at you. Hide behind Him. The Holy Spirit is the most important, precious gift the Father and Jesus ever gave you. Protect it. The judgement of the world, is NOTHING compared to the judgement of the Lord. If you feel crazy while defending your faith, just know, you're in good company. Just read the Scriptures, and you'll find a whole bunch of "crazy people" who also defended their faith, and came out on top. 

All I can say, is I'm pretty sure, Jesus doesn't let go of the leash, but make sure you stop panicking enough to look at Jesus, or even glance at Him. And celebrate when you do. 

If you read all this... thank you for coming to my first TED talk of the year. Pretty sure there is more to come. Just saying.”

As Christians, there are going to be times when we have doubts, or when we wander away from God, or when we give in to fear and panic. God knows this. He knows that at times we are going to be like Scruffy, screaming and trying our best to run away. And just like my cousin said, He is always there, waiting for us to turn back to Him, to just look at Him for a moment, so He can affirm us and draw us back to His loving arms.

I firmly believe in the "once saved, always saved" idea, meaning that when you give your life to Jesus Christ, you are sealed in Him. You are tethered to Jesus, similar to a leash, and that tether is unbreakable. We don't have to worry that one day we will wander too far, or that He will let go of the leash. We can take comfort in knowing that He is and always will be there for us.

So, if you are struggling in your faith, remember that it is a spiritual battle. You are in a fight against the dark forces of this world which are trying to pull you away from God. As my cousin shared, "Lean into Jesus, and don't fight it alone". Speak up and ask for help, that's what spiritual community is all about - helping each other in our walk with God.

And if you see someone else struggling with their faith, speak up. Do what you can to help them. Talk to them, encourage them, share a Bible verse with them, and pray with them. That is what Jesus has called us to do as Christians. To walk with each other on this journey we call life.

Our Enemy will use whatever he can to distract us from God and pull us away. He will use friends, hobbies, school, teachers, family, work, and yes, global pandemics. Even situations like what is happening in the Capitol right now are efforts by our Enemy to distract us from God. Don't let him win. Don't let him pull you away. Instead, turn to God in times like this and pray, read the Bible, serve others. Only then will you find comfort, joy, and hope in an ever darkening world.

A Message to the Silent Sufferers Out There

 How many of you would describe yourself as "suffering"?

To be honest, everyone is suffering. We could be living in perfection with God, but because of sin we are stuck in this broken world for the time being where there is pain, loss, heartache, and suffering. Now sure, some people are suffering WAY MORE than other people, but at the end of the day we each have our own struggles in life. Some of you reading this are struggling with constant self-doubt or anxiety. Some of you are struggling with traumatic experiences, abuse, or difficult family members. Some of you struggle with feeling like you just don't belong. Some of you are struggling with a general sense of hopelessness, worthlessness, or depression. Some of you probably just feel empty inside most of the time, unloved, unwanted, or unappreciated. Each of these things is a form of suffering in our lives.

The apostle Paul, the guy we talk about a lot who followed Jesus and wrote a lot of the New Testament in the Bible, knew A LOT about suffering - physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. This guy was beaten, stoned (and not the drug kind), left for dead, flogged, imprisoned, shipwrecked, bitten by venomous snakes, falsely accused, slandered, rejected, hated, and he struggled daily with a broken heart for the lost people of the world who needed Jesus in their lives. He knew what it meant to truly suffer. Now listen to what he has to say to some fellow Christians:

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God." -Romans 8:18-27

So Paul considers our present sufferings - everything we are going through right now and everything we will ever go through - as not even worth comparing with the glory that is to come for us. Basically, he is saying that what God is going to do in the future (and the life that we are going to have in Heaven) is going to be SO GOOD and awesome that there is just no comparison to be made with what we're going through right now. It would be like trying to compare a marble to the actual sun. It would be like comparing a 1st grader's drawing of the earth with the actual earth. It would be like comparing my arms to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's arms. There is no comparison.

And Paul is assuring you (yes, YOU) that no matter what you are going through right now, whether it be emptiness, anxiety, depression, self-doubt, trauma, or abuse, God is going to do something infinitely greater in your future. Paul is assuring you that there is hope of something better. And as we wait for that something better, he also reminds us that we can connect with God, and talk to Him, now. In the midst of our suffering, in the midst of our struggle, God is right there with us and we can connect with Him through prayer.

On this idea of intercession, I want you to picture in your mind that you are in an old western movie and you are stuck in a duel against the best sharpshooter in the west. The road is dusty, the doors to the saloon are swinging, one of those bush things blows across the road between you and this cowboy. Now, not only is this guy the best sharpshooter in the west, but you realize that the gun in your holster is just a water pistol. Even worse, its empty. You have an empty water pistol against his fully loaded Colt .45. Your knees are shaking, your hands are sweaty, and you have no idea what you are doing. The bell is about to ding, the duel about to start, and you are about to be dead. Then suddenly, someone jumps out between you and the cowboy, hands raised in that universal sign for "Stand down". This person talks to the cowboy and manages to get you out of the duel (and out of certain death). This person got between you and the cowboy and worked something out. THAT is what it means to intercede for someone. And that is what it means for the Holy Spirit to be interceding for us.

In our relationship with God, and in most of our prayer times, we are that lost, shaky, sweaty duelist with an empty water pistol - we have no clue what we should be praying about or saying to God. The Holy Spirit steps in-between us and God and shares with God what is really on our hearts, what our real needs are, and how we really feel. He is the go-between.

Do you want to know the real reason why we see so much suffering in the world and in our lives? It is because as humans, we are designed with a God-shaped hole in our hearts. And if you have ever seen that shape game that babies play with (you know, the one with the circle, the square, and the triangle), only God can fill that God-shaped hole. I have this hole in my heart, my wife has it in her heart, and each of you has it in your heart. And there are times in my life (probably more than I would like to admit) when I try to fill that hole with stuff other than God - videogames, sleep, food, music, stories, Netflix, memes, and even cleaning. This is like when that baby tries to put the triangle in the circle space. It just doesn't fit or fill the space. I only feel filled when I turn back to God and spend time with Him in prayer. He reminds me of who I am, and how much He loves me, and as Paul wrote, He reminds me of the glory that awaits me in the future. He fills me with hope. He fills the hole in my heart.

And for some of you, I know that praying can be awkward, and you don't always know what to say or what to pray about, but the reminder here is that we have the Holy Spirit as our go-between. When we don't know what to say, He says it for us. When we feel awkward, God fills the silence for us, and He fills that God-shaped hole in our lives.

So if you are out there right and you are suffering, turn to God. Cry out to Him and share your hurt, your suffering, with Him. Let Him remind you of who you are to Him (His child) and how much He loves you. Let Him fill you with hope as He points to the future and whispers in your ear "One day you won't feel like this anymore. One day I will wipe away all the tears and suffering." In the meantime, let us spend our time in prayer and eagerly await the glory He has in store for us.