Can God Forgive Me If I Take My Own Life?

Can God Forgive Me If I Take My Own Life?

If you are reading this and contemplating taking your own life—please contact the suicide helpline . God's desire is for you to live.

Life can feel impossible at times. There can be trials which come our way, depression and other issues that can make us feel as though we simply can’t go on, or that life just isn’t worth living. God loves you.

You are not alone. You have people who love you and you are worth the time and the effort— please seek help .

After you seek help, please read on.

The short answer to this question is yes, but the fuller answer is significantly more complex and worth exploring.

God understands our human limitations since His Son Jesus lived as a man and is now at the right hand of the Father, interceding on our behalf as our mediator (Romans 8:34; 1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus understands the feelings of depression and trials, the challenge of seeing the joy and happiness in life. He was in all points tempted, yet did not sin (Hebrews 4:15).

God is loving and He is merciful, and He is not likely to condemn a person to eternal death for taking their own life in their distress and depression. However, the act of suicide is sin. And we cannot use His love, mercy and grace as a justification for our actions (Romans 6:1-2).

Life is incredibly difficult.

People struggle with unbelievable trials; they battle depression and other serious challenges in their lives. Sometimes, it feels impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel—and people reach a point where they are certain that death is the only way out of the troubles and trials that they face. To them, it represents a certain peace and an end to all of these difficulties.

If you find yourself in this place, struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel, having difficulty finding joy and happiness and wishing for death, you are in good company.

The people of God have faced these kinds of troubles since the very beginning. Many of the biblical giants, men of incredible faith—reached a point where they wished to die and couldn’t imagine going another step. They pleaded with God to take their life from them.

In the midst of leading God’s people through the desert, as the Israelites continually complained and the pressure and stress built to a crescendo, Moses asked the Lord to take his life from him (Numbers 11:11-15). The prophet Elijah was faced with ongoing stresses and threats of death from Jezebel and felt he was the only one left of God’s prophets. He pleaded with God to take his life (1 Kings 19:1-8). Jonah would have rather died than see the evil Ninevites repent and be shown mercy by God (Jonah 4:3). Job and Jeremiah both cursed the day of their birth, desiring that they had never been born because of the difficulties and sufferings they were experiencing (Job 3:1-16; Jeremiah 20:14-18).

You are not alone in feeling like things are hopeless. These men in their lowest, darkest places begged God to end their lives, and His answer was “No.” They went on to become incredible examples of faith.

Because God said no, they were able to endure to the end despite their difficulties.

The apostle Paul sent a consistent message in his letters to his young protegé Timothy, as well as the churches of Corinth. The writer of Hebrews also discusses the same concept. They compared our spiritual journey to a race. They encouraged the people reading their letters to consistently put one foot in front of the other to finish the race, to fight the good fight (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Especially when it got tough. They encouraged them to run the race in such a way that they might be counted worthy to obtain the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) and to throw off every weight that hinders them. They were admonished to run the race with endurance so that they will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3).

James writes: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).

Life can feel impossible at times. There can be trials which come our way, depression and other issues that can make us feel as though we simply can’t go on, or that life just isn’t worth living. God loves you. He can forgive you. He has a plan for you, and He wants you to understand your part in that plan. He desires that you choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19) and that you endure to the end (Matthew 24:13).

You are not alone.

There are people who love you.

You can do this.