Keep Your Head Above Water

Many people wrestle with suicidal thoughts now and again. I am no exception, although I rarely have them now. When I was a teenager, I had them on a regular basis. The summer after I graduated from high school was probably the time I came closest to actually acting on those feelings. We had moved to Oregon the year before and I was struggling to find myself. Most of the misery I felt was self-induced, but I was beginning to seriously contemplate swallowing the barrel of a shotgun. I felt like I had ruined my life, and circumstances being what they were, it was awfully hard to get out of bed.

The only thing that kept my nose above the waterline was the dim hope, somewhere in the back of my mind, that at some point my life would get better. I knew deep down that I would be robbing myself of the chance to experience what life was really all about. So I waded through that swamp of depression until I found some solid ground again. The solid ground was the hope that Jesus would do a better job building my life than I had done.

Hebrews 9:1 "Now the first covenant, in fact, had regulations for worship and its earthly sanctuary. 9:2 For a tent was prepared, the outer one, which contained the lampstand, the table, and the presentation of the loaves; this is called the holy place. 9:3 And after the second curtain there was a tent called the holy of holies. 9:4 It contained the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered entirely with gold. In this ark were the golden urn containing the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 9:5 And above the ark were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the seat. Now is not the time to speak of these things in detail. 9:6 So with these things prepared like this, the priests enter continually into the outer tent as they perform their duties. 9:7 But only the high priest enters once a year into the inner tent, and not without blood that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. 9:8 The Holy Spirit is making clear that the way into the holy place had not yet appeared as long as the old tabernacle was standing. 9:9 This was a symbol for the time then present, when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper. 9:10 They served only for matters of food and drink and various washings; they are external regulations imposed until the new order came."

God always has something better in store for us. Just as He established the first tabernacle as an indication of how He would bring salvation to the world, God places within our lives clues about the abundant life He has waiting for us just around the bend. The fact that the High Priest could never enter the Holy of Holies without blood was a foreshadow of how the blood of Jesus the High Priest would become the means by which we would all freely and with joy enter into the presence of God Almighty. As we stand in God’s presence, He looks at us with blood covered eyes, the blood of His own Son. And what He sees is everything we were ever meant to be as His children, no matter how ruined we may think we are.