“GOD LOVES YOU. He doesn’t want you to kill yourself.” Mark said the first words that filled his heart. Minutes before, he had convinced the younger man sitting across from him not to jump off a bridge. Now they were talking over coffee.

“No, God doesn’t care about me. I deserve to die!” Ray sobbed. “I should have been there to save him . . .” Ray’s four-year-old son had drowned in a neighbor’s pool. He was swimming with his friend, and the boy’s mom was watching them. When she heard her infant crying, she went inside to check on the baby. By the time she came back, it was too late.

“Ray, none of us can save ourselves, much less someone else,” Mark said. “That’s why we need God. I just read about a rich man who lost his 10 children and his wealth in one day. His skin broke out with boils and his servants snubbed him. Even his wife told him to curse God and die. He was a godly man and had prayed for his children every day. But it seemed as if God had abandoned him. He was in so much emotional and physical pain that he wished he’d never been born.”

“Did you say 10 children?” asked Ray, forgetting himself momentarily.

“Yes, 10 children.”

“And he had prayed for them every day?”

“Yes.”

Ray exploded, “Why would God sit by and watch a godly man lose all his children? I might not be perfect, but my parents were good people. They went to church twice a week. The day they died, we were coming home from church when someone ran a red light. My parents and little brother didn’t survive!”

Shocked, Mark said nothing, but his heart went out to him.

“I’ve been angry at God since that night,” Ray continued. “I decided that if He wouldn’t save my family, He certainly didn’t care about me.” He reached for his coffee.

Both men sat silent.

Abruptly, Ray asked over the rim of his steaming cup, “How did the story end?”

Mark answered quietly, “His name was Job. He finally admitted he couldn’t save himself, and God comforted him. Everyone who had abandoned him came to celebrate. They brought him gold and other gifts. God blessed him with 10 more children and doubled the size of his business empire.”

“Wow!” exclaimed Ray, his eyes brightening. “That really happened?”

“Yes!” said Mark, just as excited. “The Bible says it did.”

“I guess I should talk to God then. I want this pain in my heart to go away. I want to live and take care of my wife. Can you help me talk to Him?” Ray’s eyes welled with tears.

Mark reached for both his hands. “I can do you one better. I can introduce you to Him. That way, you can talk to Him whenever you want.”

Ray was ready. Mark led him in a simple prayer, and the younger man welcomed God into his life. If you need the kind of comfort Ray received, you, too, can get to know God. To meet Him, ask Jesus, His Son, into your heart and make Him Lord of your life. Pray this prayer from your heart:

God, I come to You in Jesus’ Name. The Bible says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9 NIV). I believe in my heart that Jesus is Your Son and that You raised Him from the dead. And I confess Jesus as my Lord. Therefore, I am saved! Thank You!

If you prayed this prayer for the first time, welcome to God’s family! He longs to comfort you and help you. Email us at [email protected] and let us know about it. We’ll send you some free materials to get you started in your new life as His child.