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do you wonder why answers to tough questions
has what’s happened made you afraid? terrible things often happen in our world. they may affect many people, including your own family. when bad things happen it’s natural to feel scared, sad or even angry. people may have died, been injured or be hurting in some other way. it is understandable if you feel helpless or angry. it seems so unfair! maybe you are afraid that something else will happen. 2
you might just feel sad and want to cry. sometimes crying makes you feel better. don’t be ashamed. the one true and living god knows how you feel and he understands. he is also sad when terrible things happen. here are some questions you might have: does god know and care about me? why do so many bad things happen in the world? why did god allow this to happen? how can i get through this terrible time? what are some other things you are worried about right now? write them in the box below: copyright © 2002, 2012, 2016 child evangelism fellowship inc. version 5.0. all rights reserved. 3
does god know and care about me? yes! the living god does know and care about you. he knows everything. god created the whole world and he knows what happens in every part of it—nothing is a surprise to him. he knows about accidents, wars and shootings. he knows about terrible storms, floods and earthquakes. god knows what is happening to you and your family. he cares about what you think and how you feel. he knows the questions that are on your mind. it may seem like nobody really understands what you are going through, but god does. on the lines below write what you think or feel about what has happened. 4
not only does god know you, he loves you no matter what your thoughts and feelings are. in the bible god says he loves you with a love that lasts forever (jeremiah 31:3). god made you and he knows you better than anyone else does. maybe you have never thought much about god but he thinks about you. he wants you to know he is in control of everything, even when it doesn’t seem like it. although evil things happen in this world, god is completely good. he never does anything that is not right. he is holy—perfect and pure. you can trust god even when everything around you is going wrong. 5
why do so many bad things happen in the world? why are there disasters like fires and floods? why is there fighting and death? bad things like these were not always here. when god created the world, he made it perfect. everything was beautiful and good. what happened? why did things go wrong? it started when the very first people chose to ignore god. instead of obeying god, they did what they wanted to do. disobeying god is called sin. when sin came into the world, it ruined god’s perfect creation. bad things started happening in nature—things like hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. pain and death came into the world because of sin. 6
even worse, everyone since then has been born sinful. because of sin, people do things that hurt others, like saying mean things to people, hating, fighting, killing and stealing. you are not to blame in any way for terrible storms or earthquakes. a child is not to blame if his parents divorce. it is not his fault. but you and i do things that displease god and our sin keeps us apart from god who is perfect. there is pain and death because of sin. the bible says sin came into the world and brought death with it (romans 5:12). what things can you think of that are sin? sin brings many bad things into the world but god is still in charge. he decides what he will and will not allow to happen. 7 god
how could god allow this to happen? sometimes god lets bad things happen that we do not understand. these things are the result of sin. god has the power to stop people from doing sinful things but he has given them freedom to make choices—even bad choices. god has power over nature too, but he doesn’t always stop the storms or fires. even though sin causes terrible things to happen, god can make good come out of them. people often start caring more about 8
each other. some might even risk their own lives to help others. more importantly, people may also begin to think more about god and what he means to them. what good things have you seen people do when something bad has happened? god is still in control even though it might not seem like he is. you may never understand why god let this happen. but you can know that while you are hurting, he is hurting too. god is there during this terrible time. he understands if you are sad or confused. he knows and cares about what you are feeling. he loves you. when god allows something like this to happen, he wants to go through it with you. 9
how can i get through this terrible time? no matter what happens, god can help you get through it. if you become his child, he will take care of you as part of his family. god is not like earthly fathers—he is perfect. he wants to be your loving heavenly father and comfort you during this difficult time. god lives in heaven, his perfect home. his only son jesus lives there too. because god is holy he can’t ignore sin in the world. sin has to be punished. the bible tells us that the punishment for sin is death (romans 6:23). death means you are separated from god forever in a terrible place. god’s plan to take care of the sin problem was to send his son to take the punishment you and i deserve. 10
god sent his son jesus to earth as a baby. because he is the son of god, jesus is the only one who never sinned. as he grew up, jesus never did anything wrong. then the day came for jesus to take the punishment for your sin. god understands the terrible things you’re going through because he has also suffered. he watched as men took his son and nailed him to a cross. jesus suffered too. he bled and died a horrible death. god knew this was the only way your sin could be forgiven. 11
jesus was willing to suffer and die for you. the bible says jesus died on the cross, he was buried and on the third day god brought him back to life (1 corinthians 15:3-4). we know this is true because many people saw jesus alive on earth before he went back to heaven to be with god his father. he is alive in heaven today. god’s plan in sending his son shows how much he loves you! he wants you to be part of his own family. 12
how can you become part of god’s family? the bible tells us that anyone who receives jesus, believing on his name, becomes god’s child (john 1:12). to believe on jesus is to trust completely that he died for you so you can be forgiven. if you trust jesus as the only one who can save you from your sin, god will change you and make you his own child. do you believe on jesus? you can use words like these to tell god: dear god, i know i have sinned and i’m sorry. i believe that jesus is your son, who died for me and came alive again. i receive jesus as my savior. thank you for making me your child! in jesus’ name. amen. when you have received jesus as your savior, your sins are forgiven and you are god’s child. if you believed on jesus, write your name and today’s date on the lines below to help you remember when you told god you believe on jesus. name date 13
as your heavenly father, god will comfort you. as your heavenly father, god will help heal the hurt you are feeling now. someday you will go and live in heaven with god, where there is no suffering, sorrow or death. when jesus comes back to earth, he will heal all the problems sin has caused in the world. he will make it perfect once again. you can talk to him anytime about anything. that is what it means to pray. you can tell god about the things you wrote in this book. you can tell him things you don’t want to say to anyone else. what would you like to talk to god about right now? write them in the box below: 14
god will hear and answer your prayer. does this mean that nothing bad will ever happen again? no, bad things will always happen in our world. but you can know that god will always be with you. he has promised he will never leave you (hebrews 13:5). the bible also says the lord is your helper. you don’t need to be afraid (hebrews 13:6). trust in god. he will help you get through anything. god loves you so much he gave you his words in a book called the bible. there are many passages in the bible that are helpful when we go through hard times. you can memorize these verses and say them when you feel sad or afraid. always remember that god loves you and he wants to help you through this hard time. • • • • • “…i [god] will never leave you.” hebrews 13:5 “the lord [god] is my helper; i will not fear.” hebrews 13:6 “[god] alone is my rock and my salvation.” psalm 61:2 “the lord [god] is near to all who call on him.” psalm 145:18 “god is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” psalm 46:1 15
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