Life is hard. Anyone who has lived knows this. 

I never watched the TV series 13 Reasons Why, but I had enough friends fill me in on it. To summarize the story in the simplest terms, a teenaged girl writes down thirteen reasons why she will commit suicide. 

Today, I want to do the opposite. Here are thirteen reasons why you should keep fighting to stay alive, even when life is hard. 

Reason #1: God created you. You are His masterpiece. 

I know you have probably heard this countless times before, but truth is truth no matter how often we hear it. God thought of you long before you were born (Jeremiah 1:5). He created you on purpose and with purpose. He laid a little bit of Himself into you. You are His masterpiece. 

Reason #2: Our time is in God’s hands. 

God is the one who holds our days. It is not our responsibility or job to take charge. It is in His hands. And since He orchestrates everything, even all of time, while we just see the here and now, we can trust His timing..

Reason #3: Other people care.

Even if there is no one in your life, whom you would consider to care, there still are people who do! If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be writing this article. If the team here at The Wilted Rose Project didn’t care, this website wouldn’t exist. 

Reason #4: You were made for such a time as this.

The time and place God put you in is the exact time and place He wanted you to be.

Reason #5: God makes no mistakes.

This goes along with the last point. God makes no mistakes. We serve an all-knowing God who loves us deeply. He has promised that all things will work out for the good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28), and He will keep that promise. 

Reason #6: What others meant for evil, God can turn into good. 

That was the very thing Joseph told his brothers. Dear rose, you may not see it right now, but looking back, I can promise that you will. You, like Joseph, will be able to say that what others meant for evil, God meant for good (Genesis 50:20).

Reason #7: God is still God. He’s still in control. He’s still on His throne. 

Nothing – I repeat: nothing – will ever change that. He has never lost control, and He never will. 

Reason #8: God is still good.

Yes, God is still God, and God is still on His throne, but He is also still good. It is part of His character and we know that His character will never change (Hebrews 11:8). Even when life is hard, God is still God. Nothing can change that. 

Reason #9: Jesus will never leave your side.

Recently, someone told me in tears, “I just don’t want to live anymore.” My heart shattered to a million pieces, but the first thing that popped into my head was Psalm 23:4. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me (ESV, emphasis added). God never promised us a life without sorrow, without hardship. But He did promise us to be there every step of the way. 

Reason #10: You are not alone.

You are not the only one going through this. Behind beautifully painted facades, you can find shattered hearts and broken lives. You are not alone. 

Reason #11: You are not fighting on your own.

God gave us the Church for this very reason. Reach out to others: serving is one of the best ways to give your soul a rest from the weight of your own struggles. Fight together. 

Reason #12: God has a plan. 

If you end your life now, you will never know what God was going to do in and with your life. Life with Jesus is an adventure. You don’t want to miss out on His plan for your life! 

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

Reason #13: God cares.

I had the title of this article on my heart and in my mind for a long time. Finally, I sat down to write it. Without numbering them, I wrote down reasons. After a time, I stopped and counted how many I had. It was thirteen. It was God. If He really cares for the number of reasons I write in an article, there is nothing in your life or mine that He disregards as unimportant. God cares. 

Tell me in the comments below:

What is one reason you keep going even when life is hard? What is one reason you would give others to keep going?