James Meehan - Hope Is Closer Than You Think
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Well, welcome to the Bash, a very special night of Switch dedicated to our partnership with Stay Here. They are a nonprofit organization with a vision to see your generation be suicide-free. How? By training 10,000 churches, 10,000 schools, and 1 million individuals in effective, comprehensive, and Christ-centered suicide prevention. This matters to God, and it is right at the core of the gospel. During his ministry, Jesus told us that the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. But Jesus has come, that they, that we may have life and have it to the full. That is why Stay Here exists. They are a ministry with a mission, to help people like you, your friends, take their life back.
This matters because every 40 seconds someone dies by suicide. The need is more urgent than ever before, but we still have hope. Because suicide is preventable, hope is available, and redemption is possible. And with your help, we can see those kinds of statistics change for the better. Oftentimes, all it takes is one moment, one word, one act, one phone call, one message, one invite to save a life. Don’t just take my word for it though. There are countless young people like you who have made the decision to cancel their suicide plans, to choose a life, to stay here even when it’s hard, and Sam is one of those stories.
You see, going into his senior year of high school, he had done a really good job of presenting a version of himself to the world that from the outside looked picture-perfect, but that was just a mask, because on the inside, he was a mess. His life started falling apart when he lost one of his close friends to suicide, something that nobody is prepared to handle. And the grief hit him like a truck. And he did not know what to do with it. So he tried to hide it, like he kept up the front, doing all the stuff that he was supposed to do. But then eventually, the pain, the hurt, the sorrow, it did not go away.
And so, then, seemingly out of nowhere, Sam lost another friend to suicide. And that’s when it became too much. He would tell you that his life felt like a nightmare. He was drowning in grief, and he did not know how to ask for help. Everyone around him felt so far away that, to him, reaching out seemed hopeless. So he kept the mask on. He went to church, he volunteered. He tried his best to be strong and repeated the process, but the pain didn’t go away. So one night, Sam found himself crying out to God with a gun held to his head. He said, «God, if you have any reason for me to live, show it to me. But if you don’t, I’m gonna take my life because I cannot deal with this pain anymore».
And it was right around that time, that Sam showed up to a leadership conference for high school students at his church. And Sam knew he did not belong. Like if people knew what was going on beneath the mask, he never would’ve gotten invited. Not only that, but Sam couldn’t even afford to pay the registration fee. He was only able to go because a generous family from his church offered to pay the way of a student who couldn’t afford it. And while Sam tried to appreciate that act of kindness, it only added to him feeling like an imposter. So among a sea of young Christian leaders, his supposed friends and peers, he felt more isolated than ever. But God, God heard his cry and responded in a way that Sam never would have imagined.
You see, it was at that conference that Jacob Coyne, the founder of Stay Here, was speaking. And during one of the sessions, Jacob got up on stage and asked if anybody in the room was struggling with suicidal thoughts. And when he did, Sam felt seen for the first time in a long time. And so Sam raised his hand to say, «Yes, I’m struggling». And immediately, friends, pastors, leaders, students surrounded Sam to pray for him, to hug him, to remind him that he is loved by God and he is not alone. And that was when Sam dropped the mask. He got honest. For the first time, the pressure of being perfect felt like it was lifted from his shoulders. And there, surrounded by these people, Sam canceled his suicide plan. He chose to stay here.
And if you were to ask him now, he would be the first to tell you that his grief didn’t magically go away. The pain and the hurt didn’t disappear overnight. But now, he has something to carry him through those dark days. He has hope. He knows that he is not alone, that he is loved by God, that people are there for him, and that he can choose to make his future better and brighter than his past. And he would say that he wants the same for you too. That no matter how hard the days may be, you are loved by God, that your life matters, that you are not alone. So choose to stay here. The hope that Sam found, the hope that you can find is summed up beautifully and powerfully.
In 1 Corinthians 15, where the apostle Paul describes the redemption that Jesus won for us through his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. He writes this. He says, «Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God. He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain». If you’re taking notes, I want you to write this down. Suicide is preventable. Hope is available. Redemption is possible.
So, choose to stay here. Suicide is preventable. Because of Jesus, death no longer has the final say. Its victory has been stolen, its sting has been taken, and hope is available. No matter how dark your life may seem, your future can be brighter and better than your past. The victory that once belonged to death has been given to us through the grace and mercy of Jesus. Redemption is possible. Your past does not have to continue to haunt your present or define your future. Your story can be different. Your sins can be forgiven, your purpose can be restored. So choose to stay here. Choose to fight for your life and the lives of others because life matters. This is why Jesus came to bring life and life to the full.
Now I wanna be very clear though. That does not mean that any of this stuff is easy. For those of you who have lost someone to suicide or are personally wrestling with whether or not you life is worth living, you are quite literally in the fight of your life. But this is so important to understand is that you do not need to fight alone. That if you let him, Jesus will be with you in the fight. And if you let us, we will be with you in the fight too.
You see, it was on the night of his arrest that Jesus was betrayed by two of his closest friends. Judas is the one who sold him out to the religious leaders and played an instrumental role in Jesus' arrest and eventual execution. And there was Peter who denied even knowing Jesus three times, because he was so afraid that if he was associated with Jesus, he’d get arrested too. Two followers, two betrayals, but two very different endings to their stories. For those of you who don’t know, Judas, so overwhelmed with the despair and shame of stabbing his friend, his teacher, his mentor in the back, he chose to end his life. And that is tragically where Judas' story ended.
Peter was also overwhelmed with despair and shame from turning his back on Jesus. So much so that he quit his job as a disciple and went back to being a fisherman. And that is likely where Peter thought his story was going to end, but it didn’t. Because after Jesus rose from the grave, he went to find Peter. He went to offer him another chance to restore his role as a disciple, to call him back into his purpose. So that now, 2,000 years later, Judas is remembered as the traitor who sold out Jesus. But Peter is remembered as a champion of the faith and a leader of the early church. Two followers, two betrayals, two very different stories.
Why was Peter’s story so different? It’s because he chose to stay here. He stuck around long enough for Jesus to find him. And I am confident that had Judas done the same, that Jesus would’ve found him too, that he would have offered him hope. He would’ve offered him redemption. He would’ve offered him forgiveness. Because that is how good, how kind, how merciful, how gracious Jesus is. So no matter what you have done, no matter how dark your life may feel, you are never too far for Jesus to find you and bring you back home. Suicide is preventable, hope is available, and redemption is possible. So no matter what, choose to stay here.
So how do we do that? How do we choose to stay here? And how do we help others do the same? In the very next chapter of Corinthians, Paul writes this. He says to be on your guard. He says to stand firm in the faith. He says to be courageous, be strong, and do everything in love. Now I’m gonna talk to two different groups of people. First, those of you who are struggling with suicidal ideation. If you are wondering whether or not your life is worth living, let me tell you loud and clear that it is. If you have been looking for a sign from God, let this be it, that your life matters and you are loved by the creator of the universe.
So be on your guard against any negative thought that tells you otherwise. Stand firm in the faith, in the confident hope we have that God is real. He is good. He loves you. He cares about the details of your life and he is with you in the suffering. Be strong and courageous. Walk into each day with your head held high knowing that what you are going through is tough, but with God’s help, you can be tougher, that the suffering you are experiencing sucks. But by God’s grace, it can also strengthen you. And every chance you get, every choice you make, do everything in love.
Commit to stay here because you love God enough to keep living even when you don’t want to. Choose to stay here because you love your friends and your family enough to be around for them tomorrow. If you are wrestling with suicidal ideation, do not leave this building tonight without talking to someone. A friend, a pastor, or a leader. If you’re watching this message online, then talk to a hope coach right now. You can click the link on the screen or down below to get connected to somebody who wants to help you choose to live.
Now for those of you who want to help others take their lives back, to discover the hope and redemption that is possible for them in Jesus' name, the best thing that you can do is take the ACT Suicide Prevention Training. This is a training that Stay Here offers on their website, so that you can learn how to ask the right questions, that you can convince your friend, your family member, your classmate, whoever that life is worth living, and suicide is never the right option. And you can help them take action that will lead to long-term health and wellbeing. This is how we fight this battle. We choose to stay here, and we do everything we can to help others do the same. Because suicide is preventable, hope is available, and redemption is possible.
I wanna read that scripture from earlier one more time, because I think the words are so, so important. Paul says, «Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God. He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm, stay here. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor, your work for God is never in vain». When you devote yourself to the mission of Jesus, nothing you do is ever wasted. It all matters here in this life and in eternity. So my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Choose to stay here. Because together we can see an end to suicide in your generation.
And so Lord Jesus, we come before you right now, grateful for the love that you offer us, hopeful that you can show us a better path forward. I pray for every single person that is wrestling with suicidal ideation, that you would make your love known to them in a real and a tangible way right now. And I pray for all of us who want to be a part of the solution, that we would have the courage to do what is right and the wisdom to do it well. Be with us, Jesus. Guide us so that we can be your hands and feet. We can bring your light and your love into the world everywhere that it is needed. We pray all of this in your name. Amen.