We had never seen so many people in one place at one time. The Eiffel Tower
truly is "the" attraction In Paris"! Hardly anyone was moving, and it was
difficult to navigate through the crowd towards the foot of the tower. Once we
were about half-way there however, we found that we could go no further. The
French police had cordoned off the entire area at the foot of the tower.
When I approached the nearest police officer to find out what was going on, he
indicated there was a suicide attempt. In other words, someone had decided to
"take an illegal walk". We stared up at the tower and sure enough, that "illegal
walk" had landed this person over the railing of the Eiffel tower's first floor.
Fortunately, there was a police officer in a harness right in front of the
person, prayerfully trying to help her change her mind.
In the world-renowned city of love, someone wanted to end her life!
This reminded me of a song from my wilder days, called "View from a bridge", a
view of the desperate. But how does one end up over the railing of the Eiffel
Tower? How can someone find himself contemplating suicide?
There are many reasons why people make this desperate move. These may include
the loss of a loved one, a broken heart, being in financial trouble, and feeling
unwanted, to name just a few. In all, these people have lost all hope. They feel
that life is not worth living any longer.
But then, one question I always ponder, if we make such a choice, is it possible
that life after death might be even less bearable? Is it worth the risk?
Just like the pilot of an aircraft can find himself in a deadly spiral with no
hope of pulling himself out, hopeless people also find themselves in deadly
spirals, with no hope in sight. What does the pilot do in times like this? He
ejects himself from the aircraft and floats safely back to Earth under the
umbrella of his emergency parachute.
What most of us don't realize is that we also have an emergency parachute. We
could avoid many disasters if we would just use it! Let's think about it for a
moment: How many of our problems will still exist a year from now? What about in
5 years? Or 10? For myself, I can't remember any of the problems that I had 5
years ago, even less 10!
Why?
Because God is on the move! He helps us out of the mud we get ourselves stuck
in. Though we may tend to reject Him, He patiently tugs at our hearts, pointing
the way to the path of hope.
"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who
hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we
wait for it patiently." (Rom 8:24-25 NIV)
Hope saves!
Feeling unwanted? God wants you! (see 1 Tim 2:4)
Feeling unloved? God loves you! (see Psalms 36:7)
Feeling desperate? God will provide! (see 1 Cor 10:13)
Finding yourself in an impasse? God will help you get out! (see Isaiah 58:11)
Facing the enormity of your evil actions? God forgives! (see John 3:16)
That secret parachute you hold is God, and this is His promise to you: "Do not
be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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." (Phil 4:6-7 NIV)
Somehow He provides!
In other words, instead of allowing ourselves to become anxious about potential
outcomes and possible futures, let's give these worries to God through prayer,
thanking Him for taking care of them, and having full confidence that He is true
to His word. And believe me, He is!
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
(Matt 11:28 NIV)
Jesus does not say that He might give us rest. He assures us that He will give
us rest. In essence, we are taking our heavy, over-loaded extra-sized backpacks
off of our backs and laying them at the feet of Jesus. In return, He will turn
them into an ultra-comfortable back supports!
How will you know when you have handed your burdens completely over to Jesus?
"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:7)
You will be overcome with Inner peace. This is not a normal kind of peace that
we can find on ordinary streets. It comes straight from Jesus, and its purpose
is to confirm that indeed we have nothing to be afraid of, for there's hope in
Him!
Try it out! It works!
"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape
your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a
sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and
settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the
center of your life." (Phil 4:6-7 The Message)
The view from the bridge isn't the best anyway. God can give you a much better
view from much higher up!
P. S. The French police officer succeeded in saving the girl's life.
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.