Hello, I'm Seth Tolson.

I just wanted to share why I believe and how I've gotten to this
point. I would like to start out by explaining how I got to where I am and just tell you what
happened to impact me to change my life and follow God. My parents got divorced when I was 6
months old. I moved around a lot when I was young up until I was about 16 years old which
made me kind of bitter since I wanted to stay in one place and keep the friends I made. With that
bitterness growing and my mom still uprooting us every other year, I started becoming really
hateful and started fighting with my mom every day. My mom and I have had a rough
relationship for as long as I can remember. We both were really hateful toward each other and
that caused a serious division between us. It only got worse in high school when I started dating
a girl named Taylor. Taylor and I fell in love or what we thought was love. The relationship was
toxic and I didn't see it. I was so blinded that I went on a downfall when she broke up with me. I
was heartbroken, confused, and so depressed. I started self-harming myself. Anything to cause
myself pain because that was the only thing I could control in my life, it felt like, whether that be
cutting myself, burning myself, or just bleeding out on the bathroom floor. I lost all hope in
everything and didn't care about anything. I started doing drugs and getting trashed, sleeping
with girls at parties, and just digging the hole I was in even deeper. I eventually became suicidal.
I had no reason to live and I felt as if my life was pointless. I eventually reached my end and
decided I was going to kill myself. It didnt work. No matter what I tried and believe me, it
shouldve worked somehow, it didnt work. God had a plan and was working things out right in
front of my face but I was blinded by my depression and the darkness I was living in. I was so
desperate for a way out that I decided that I was going to try to kill myself one more time. I was
going to hang myself but God met me where I was and did something that to this day, blows me
away. I was going to step off the chair I was standing on but then my bible that was flat in the

middle of my desk flew off of my desk and onto my floor. I was so freaked out that I got down
and saw it was opened to 1 Corinthians 10 and the sun light shining through my closed blinds
was highlighting verse 13. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to
mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But
when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. When I read
that verse I broke down in tears and knew God was real and cared about me. From that day on, I
wanted to learn more about God, why he loved me and cared about me. Even though, that
supernatural experience was enough for me to believe and trust God, I still wanted to know more
and wanted to know as much as possible so I could tell people about what God did in my life and
help them understand the love that he truly has for us and what he did for us on the cross. My
supernatural experience isnt the end of why I believe, it is just the beginning.

But I came across this question, Why doesnt God intervene in all suicides? It bothered
me that I couldnt answer that question. I didnt know why God wouldnt do what he did for me,
for everyone. It really started to mess with my head. So I started studying and asking God and
digging in to figure out why. I figured it out through studying and asking God why. God has a
plan for everyone and everything. He already knows what is going to happen 50 years from now
and he knew 100 years before that. Also, something that I realized is that God speaks to all of us,
all the time. Its only if we are listening, do we hear him. I can speak from my own experiences
that I can ignore God all the time. I ignored him for a long time before actually listening. But
once I listened, he showed me who he really is. John 10:27 says My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me. Romans 10:17 says So faith comes from hearing, and hearing
through the word of Christ. I heard God and I had faith he was real and I know he is real

because he spoke to me and showed me who he is and how much he loves me. My faith in God
pushed me to know more about him. I started reading my bible, learning his attributes, talking to
God and asking him questions. I guess the point Im getting to is, I think God does intervene on a
lot of situations and just arent aware of it because its like God is backstage in the play that is
your life. The wage for sin is death and we dont die every time we sin, thats all because of
Jesus. He intervened and died on the cross for our sin so we wouldnt have to die. We can now
come to him and ask for forgiveness, even though he already has forgiven us. So I think to say
God doesnt intervene on things we are going through, like suicide, depression, or anything else
that you fill that space with, is silly.
I still came across some questions in the midst of sharing my testimony of what God in
my life, those questions were How do you know he is real? and How do you know the bible is
true and not just made up? Those questions challenged me because I didnt know how to answer
those questions in a way that would make sense to someone who didnt believe in God or even
someone who did believe but didnt have a similar experience as I did. So naturally, I searched
for answers and guess what? I found answers! I found a bunch of documents from 37 AD up to
120 AD from Historians and Satirists during that time that current historians and others consider
to be accurate. For example, Lucian (Greek Satirist) the man who was crucified in Palestine
because he introduced this new cult into the worldtheir first lawgiver persuaded them that they
were all brothers one of another after they have transgressed once for all by denying the Greek
gods and by worshipping that crucified sophist himself and living under his laws. The bible
says he was crucified because he was going out and preaching the Gospel; in other words, he was
going out, making disciples and telling the people about God and preaching about the love of
God and what he, Jesus, was sent here to do and that was to come and save the people. People

started following him after he did miracles and spoke truth. The leaders of that time didnt agree
with what he was preaching because the people stopped worshiping them and started to follow
Jesus. He was crucified by the leaders of that time (John 19). Just that one piece of evidence by
itself, verifies at least part of the bible and how Jesus was a real person who was persecuted
because of his teachings. I also found a document from Josephus (Jewish Historian, A.D. 37-100)
the brother of Jesus, the so-called Christ, whose name was James The bible says that
James was Jesus brother (Matthew 13:55). Then I came across another writing from Josephus,
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a
doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over
to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at
the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that
loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as
the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him.
And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day. This writing from
Josephus talks about the good works and teachings that Jesus did and also how he was
persecuted for those teachings.
After I found evidence for who Jesus was and validated what the bible says about Jesus, I
looked for some architectural evidence to validate the bible and came across tons. Such as the
Wall of Jericho and how it fell in such a way that wasnt pushed over but fell in a way that
wasnt natural (Joshua 6) and the House of David stone that was found with writing that says
House of David that is talked about in Isiah 22:22 that validates that it really did exist.
God revealed himself to me in a way that many wont understand or believe and it
changed my life but it was never about me. It is only about how Jesus loves us and came to gives

us everlasting life in his kingdom. We are called to go out and make disciples, to reach people
and tell them about God and how he sent Jesus to cover our sins and give us a place in heaven
with Him. With all that being said, I dont believe because of my experience alone, but I believe
because of the evidence and facts. This is why I belive.