Tammy and I thank the Lord for our children. Like every parent we pray that they will desire to follow Christ. More and more I understand the words of John, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 4).

Recently our oldest daughter Morgan posted some thoughts through social media on the subject of teen suicide. The Lord used them to speak to some young people and I asked her for permission to share her thoughts here. It is our prayer that they will encourage others.

The following are Morgan’s own words…

As I look on my generation I see a group of teenagers filled with questions, filled with pain, and filled with frustration.

Why are so many teens turning their back on God, or asking “why,” or feel so at the end of themselves that they decide to take their own lives?

Almost 3,000 people commit suicide EVERYDAY. Suicide rates have increased 60% over the last 50 years…Every 1.1 second a teenager, just like us!, tries to commit suicide. And every 80 minutes a teenage suicide attempt succeeds.

People today are filled with questions about what they’re going though and think that there are NO answers. But they are WRONG! Christians have the answer.

Be an encouragement to someone going through something. Say a kind word to someone having a rough day. Show someone the love of God in you and maybe they will be able to see the world and Christ Jesus more clearly.

Depression, fear, stress, and anxiety have taken over a world that needs to be filled with love, hope, peace, and God’s word. All people want is happiness. And they don’t need to find it in the world. They can find it in God’s word!

Interestingly enough I was away speaking in a youth camp when Morgan first posted these words. I had a young lady speak to me there who had battled with depression and suicidal thoughts. You never know what someone near you is thinking.

One of the greatest verses in the Bible on the subject of suicide is Ecclesiastes 9:4, “For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.”

As long as there is life there is hope.