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God’s word to suicidal: Bible verses to help prevent suicide

God’s word to suicidal: Bible verses to help prevent suicide

Last updated on: November 20, 2025 at 7:39 am by Adrian Warnock

God’s word to suicidal: Bible verses to help prevent suicide 2025-11-20T07:39:11+00:00 Adrian Warnock

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Depression-loss_of_loved_one I do want to stress at the outset of this article that suicidal thoughts should not be ignored. Nor should anyone think they can simply treat them by Bible meditation alone. If you or someone you love is suicidal then you should treat it as a medical emergency and get the professional help and assessment you need.

Contact The Samaritans or your local equivalent for more help

For anyone who has lost someone to suicide I refer them to my previous post “Will a Christian who commits suicide go to heaven?”

To be quite honest, when someone becomes suicidal it may well not the right time to introduce them to these verses. But these verses are nonetheless part of God’s antidote to these destructive thoughts. Get them into your mind now when your mind is well and who knows maybe even if you become mentally ill their effects may protect you. When introduced tenderly and gently someone who is recovering from a severe mental illness may find some of these helpful to them also. Some of these verses warn us of the deadly results of depression, others provide promises we can cling to by faith, and others prayers we can pray for ourselves or on behalf of others.

Help When Life Hurts

This article is part of a growing collection, drawing from Adrian Warnock’s medical and psychological expertise, lived experience, and Christian faith.

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This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it (John 11:4).

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (2 Corinthians 7:10).

For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. (2 Corinthians 1:8–10.)

In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death. (Proverbs 12:28).

You have kept count of my tossings;

put my tears in your bottle.

Are they not in your book?

. . . I must perform my vows to you, O God;

I will render thank offerings to you.

For you have delivered my soul from death,

yes, my feet from falling,

that I may walk before God

      in the light of life.

(Psalm 56:8–13).

For the enemy has pursued my soul;

      he has crushed my life to the ground;

he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

Therefore my spirit faints within me;

my heart within me is appalled.

I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands.

I stretch out my hands to you;

my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

Answer me quickly, O LORD!

My spirit fails!

Hide not your face from me,

lest I be like those who go down to the pit.

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,

for in you I trust.

Make me know the way I should go,

for to you I lift up my soul. . .

For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life!

In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!

(Psalm 143:3–11).

If the LORD had not been my help,

my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.

When I thought, “My foot slips,”

your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.

When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.

(Psalm 94:17–19).

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

(John 10:10–11).

To you, O LORD, I cry,

and to the Lord I plead for mercy:

“What profit is there in my death,

      if I go down to the pit?

Will the dust praise you?

Will it tell of your faithfulness?

Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me!

O LORD, be my helper!”

(Psalm 30:8–10).

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name!

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who satisfies you with good

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

(Psalm 103:1–5).

Can a Christian get depressed?

How can I recognize a possible mental illness?

Pastoral care with mental health in mind

What can we do to reduce the risk of suicide?

Is your Jesus Strong and Kind? Is He Meek and Majestic?

Beware the ‘Perfect’ Christian myth. None of us are mature

Health, Fitness and Religion

About Adrian Warnock

Adrian Warnock

Medical doctor · Published author · Patheos writer since 2003

I have always lived within sixty miles of London, UK where I studied, worked and worshipped for thirty years. I began writing for this Patheos blog in April 2003, making it one of the longest-running individual columns on the Christian Internet. My writing here, on Substack, and in my books is influenced by my medical training, eight years of working as a psychiatrist in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), eighteen years working in medical research in the pharmaceutical industry, twenty-five years of serving as a pastoral leader in a growing multicultural church, and a difficult decade of lived experience with chronic illness, including blood cancer, and the unexpected losses, including early retirement, that resulted.

Together, these all shape a biopsychosocial-spiritual approach which I first wrote about on Patheos in 2013. This model offers us hope, compassion, and healing in all life’s challenges. This holistic approach is based on the idea that all truth is God’s truth.

At times, since my illness, my faith has been faint. I wondered if this was the end of my story. I was not strong enough to live for Jesus the way I wanted to. I could not change myself. And then hope reminded me: The resurrection of Jesus changes everything. Just not all at once. Healing takes time. Compassion and patience sustain us over a lifetime of change. I aim to approach suffering with hope and compassion, and address tough questions including:

What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for you?

Raised With Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything (Crossway, 2010; 2nd edition, Amazon, 2025)
Why is change so difficult? What causes the resistance?

The Traitor Within: Understanding and Healing Our Deceitful Hearts (Amazon, 2026)
Why is change so slow? How does grace lead us over a lifetime?

Amazing Grace: How Faith Grows in the Human Heart (Amazon, 2026)
How do you become a Christian? Can you know if you really are one?

Hope Reborn: How to Become a Christian and Live for Jesus Co-authored with Tope Koleoso (Christian Focus, 2014)

Qualifications

I qualified with an MB BS from the University of London (equivalent to an MD in the United States), hold postgraduate qualifications in psychiatry (MRCPsych) and pharmaceutical medicine (MFFM, DipPharmMed), and took theological training courses run by Newfrontiers.

Connect With me

Substack: adrianwarnock.substack.com (the best way to ask questions)
Twitter/X: @adrianwarnock
Facebook: Adrian Warnock
Email: [email protected] (I may not be able to respond to every message)

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