Meet Nicole: A Survivor's Story

          So in my last post, I said that a young woman asked me if committing suicide would send her to hell. I'd like to introduce all of you to that young woman, Nicole Strong. Nicole is 18 years old, living in Byron, New York, finishing her senior year at Byron-Bergen High School. I asked her to write her testimony for all of you:

          I've recently found myself facing many struggles and tough situations in the flesh. Having been in the church my whole life, I've always had an understanding of who Christ is, and I'm in the church every chance I get. However, Christianity is much more than going to church, or simply believing in the Lord. Christianity is a lifestyle. You can't just admit there's a God and that He has a divine plan for your life. You have to live out this truth: God sets you free. You can't just say He's King of kings and Lord of Lords then have your actions speak otherwise. I've found this out and it hurts me knowing I've strayed away from my God, the Author and Perfecter of my faith, the ultimate healer of all my pain. As I went through struggles recently with depression and thoughts of suicide, I realized that instead of trying to get answers from the world, I needed to be getting them from the Creator of this world. I mean, it's good to seek wisdom from other believers, but it doesn't mean I need to seek answers from the world. When I would hear what I don't want to hear, I'd cry about it. But no! I need to accept the truth — I'm a child of God who is fearfully and wonderfully made. I need to stop worrying about my future, because God's got it in His hands! He has delivered me thus far from pain and struggles. He's saved me from killing myself three times in the past. Jesus has saved me! I, Nicole, am so unworthy of His love, yet he wants nothing more than to give it to me. He wants me and everyone else to realize that I need to just continue having faith and trusting in Him. He's never failed, so why would He start now?

           I love her testimony of perseverance in the face of adversity. Like I said in my last post, the enemy wants nothing more than to tempt you back into your old ways and your old problems, but when we focus on who God is, all of those problems fade away. In Philippians 1:4-6, Paul tells the church at Philippi, "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." 

          I hope that Nicole's story has inspired you as much as it has inspired me that those who have accepted Christ as their savior and invited them to reign in their hearts can rest fully on His grace. For, "where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)"