The economy in America today varies from day to day, based on who is doing the talking! Bob Deitrick, a principal at Polaris Financial Partners, studies political parties to determine which party is better for Americans’ finances. In an article published in Forbes magazine, Deitrick said, “President Reagan is considered the best modern-day president.”
Deitrick compared Reagan’s performance during the 1980s recession with that of President Obama’s during the “Great Recession” of his term: “Regardless of Reagan’s popularity, statistics prove President Obama’s job creation surpassed that of President Reagan.”
Deitrick further asserted, “President Obama has achieved a 6.1 percent unemployment rate in his sixth year, fully one year faster than President Reagan did.”
Since the Reagan years, not only have we had Obama, but we also had Donald John Trump, which has changed the entire trajectory of where and how America is respected.
These improvements in the economy do exist, which means millions are now getting their lives back again. On the other hand, there are tens of thousands of you who have storms of life issues raging. You’ve lost homes, you’ve lost loved ones to COVID-19, or you lost your job and you’re living with relatives or friends. Things just have not been the same for you for one reason or another for years now. And to you, it may feel like God has forgotten about you.
He hasn’t!
According to the CDC, suicide rates are up! After declining in 2019 and 2020, suicide deaths increased by approximately 5% in the United States in 2021. The provisional estimates recently released indicate that suicide deaths increased again in 2022, rising from 48,183 deaths in 2021 to an estimated 49,449 deaths in 2022, an increase of approximately 2.6%. However, two groups did see a decline in numbers — American Indian and Alaska Native people (down 6.1%) and people 10-24 years old (down 8.4%).
“Nine in 10 Americans believe America is facing a mental health crisis. The new suicide death data reported by CDC illustrates why. One life lost to suicide is one too many. Yet too many people still believe asking for help is a sign of weakness,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “The Biden-Harris administration is making unprecedented investments to transform how mental health is understood, accessed and treated as part of President Biden’s Unity Agenda. We must continue to eliminate the stigmatization of mental health and make care available to all Americans.”
Debra Houry, CDC’s chief medical officer, said the “troubling increase” in suicide rates “requires immediate action across our society to address the staggering loss of life from tragedies that are preventable.”
“Everyone can play a role in efforts to save lives and reverse the rise in suicide deaths,” Houry said.
Be very careful of how you think. Happy, loving and caring thoughts are of God, but the dark side is not, and when such negative thought patterns continue for long periods, that thinking can be detrimental. So shake the devil off!
There is a Scripture, Ephesians 6:12, which says: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Folks, when we allow negative thinking to persist, it is often catastrophic.
Here is where I’d like to encourage those of you who are feeling downtrodden. Keep your hand in God’s hand. It really doesn’t matter what’s going on — the Lord will fix it for you.
Don’t allow your dire circumstances to cause you to take your own life. And watch out for your teenage children too — there are so many of them hurting as well. No storm continues to rage. The winds will subside, clouds will clear, and the sun will surely return, so use Mother Earth’s model. Green grass grows after much rain, but those who take their own lives — well, that will be forever.
Like the lyrics from my favorite Shirley Caesar song, “He’ll Do It Again!,” “You may be down and feel like God has somehow forgotten/that you are faced with circumstances you can’t get through/But now it seems that there’s no way out and you’re going under/God’s proven time and time again He’ll take care of you.
In the chorus, she says, “And He’ll do it again, He’ll do it again/Just take a look at where you are now and where you’ve been/Well, hasn’t He always come through for you? He’s the same now as then/You may not know how, you may not know when, but He’ll do it again!”
Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, visit her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on Twitter @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.