Can Satan kill you? NO. The idea that the devil can take your life is a lie. Christian or non-Christian, Satan can’t make you pull the trigger of a gun. Force you to down a bottle of pills. Get you to OD on drugs. Drive your car into a lane of traffic. Jump from the window of a tall building. BUT the devil can push you to the edge of self-destruction. He can put you in a seemingly irreversible situation where you act out your own end. Or he can gradually take over your mind until you become incapable of rational thought and you take your own life. I’ve addressed this issue in hundreds, perhaps thousands, of counseling sessions with individuals despairing of life. Please hear what I say. It could rescue you or someone you love.
This blog came about because of an article I read concerning a beautiful, 19-year-old African American college student, Arlana Miller. She was a popular cheerleader who killed herself just over a week ago. Looking at pictures of her one would think she had everything to live for. But the lengthy suicide note she left behind was gut-wrenching and revealing. She confessed to dealing with depression for a long time. She started by say, “I have fought this urge since my early teenage years”. It was obvious from the note that she had catastrophized her situation, blowing her adversity way out of proportion. But that’s the nature of clinical depression, loss of ability to sees one’s own challenges in perspective.
Among the heartbroken words of her suicide note were these: “I’ve lost my connection to God. The devil seems to have won. And that is OK. I blame no one for this. I’ve been dead inside for too long. I’m done fighting. My battle is over. I’m SO, SO SORRY.”
I only know about this young woman from what I read, but I want to give my observations from decades of counseling and ministering to thousands like her. I’m not saying that this tragic death involved any of the issues I’ll address. But her loss is a warning to look for these signs:
- Lack of a supportive, two-parent family structure. It appears Arlana came from a broken family. Of all the photos posthumously posted, none show a father present. Don’t ever believe the lie that children aren’t deeply affected by divorce and family disintegration. I can’t underscore enough how important it is to have a loving father in the home, especially if the child is female.
- What I’m about to say doesn’t necessarily reflect on this young woman, but the majority of suicidal cases I’ve dealt with, especially women, involve past sexual abuse. Most have never told anyone and never sought spiritual and mental health assistance. If this is you, please tell your story immediately to a pastor, priest, therapist, mental health professional, or an inner healing and deliverance minister. Talk to a trusted, adult authority figure and don’t bottle up the pain of trauma.
- If the person in question has battled major depression over a prolonged time, get help. Don’t assume that good looks, talent, intellectual ability, and even a Christian faith will get that individual past the persistent feeling of sadness, hopelessness, loss of interest in normal activities, or lack of interest in life.
- Many people I’ve counseled have experienced what I call the X-factor, some unrevealed, tragic incident. It could be any of a thousand things, but for the suicidal person it is some life-defining moment: sexual violation, personal failure, drug addiction, occult involvement, or family dysfunction that has led to demonic oppression. In this case, confronting the evil spirits of death and destruction will be necessary, in addition to competent counseling.
Remember Arlana’s words: “I’ve lost my connection to God. The devil seems to have won.” If you or someone you know feels that way, remember this. The devil can’t kill you if you are a child of God, but he can push you to the point of such despair that you’ll do it for him. A suicidal or severely depressed person needs help immediately. Get them to an emergency ward. Seek competent counseling. And if the person reveals some previously unknown abuse, contact us to arrange a deliverance encounter with me or a trained Associate Minister. Satan can’t kill a depressed and despairing Christian, but he can lead them to the edge of destruction where a mentally imbalanced mind can make ending it all seem like a way out. As Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end, it leads to death (NIV). And as Hebrews 2: 14 reminds that “through death [Christ’s crucifixion] He [Christ] might destroy him [Satan] that had the power of death, that is the devil” (KJV).
