Years ago, when my oldest daughter was first learning to ride a bike, she had the common misfortune of falling off and skinning her knee. She came to me with huge tears in her eyes, asking, “Why didn’t God protect me?”
As I cleaned up her scrape, I pondered her question. Earlier that day, we had been discussing some important truths about God:
• He’s all-powerful (Jeremiah 51:15; Psalm 147:5).
• He watches over us and protects us (Psalm 121).
• He’s good (Psalm 31:19; 119:68).
And yet she still fell off her bike. At that moment, she didn’t feel like God was watching over her and protecting her. I found myself, at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon, trying to explain how God’s goodness, care, and power can coexist with the reality of human suffering. Her question was a theological conundrum that Christians have pondered, discussed, and written about for centuries. How could I explain to my child these deep truths that I struggled to understand myself?
That question is what this blog is all about. Scripture doesn’t always tell us specifically why difficult circumstances happen. However, it does tell us what God is doing and how we can respond in the midst of our trials. This blog helps children learn to look for God’s handiwork during times of struggle.
Consider What God Is Doing
Romans 8:28-29 tells us, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” What is God doing with all of our circumstances? He is working them for our good so that we might be transformed to look more like Jesus. Whatever happens, he has a plan, and it’s for our good.
Consider How We Respond
James instructs us, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).
How are we to respond to these difficulties and trials? We rightly grieve, mourn, and lament the pain of this world (and the Psalms give us words to sing our sorrows). At the same time, we can “count it all joy” by offering praises to God in hopeful trust. We don’t rejoice in the trial itself, but we rejoice because God is using the trial to steady, strengthen, perfect, and complete our faith. Nothing is wasted. Our sorrow (in the hardship) and joy (in the Lord’s plan) can walk side by side and not be in opposition to one another.
God is always doing something, even when we don’t understand why. “Counting it all joy” is an act of walking by faith, not by sight. One day in heaven, we’ll look back and truly understand that God has been following us with his goodness all of our days.
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Trusting God Through Life’s Hurts
Count It All Joy, by Melissa B. Kruger, helps kids understand how God uses both the ups and downs of life to shape them to be more like Jesus.
Children often ask big theological questions—one of the most common being, “If God is good, why does He allow bad things to happen to us?”
This beautifully written rhyming picture book offers a simple, biblically faithful answer: that God uses both everyday triumphs and trials to accomplish His good plans in our lives. Kids will learn that God is always at work on their behalf—and that they can trust Him through both joyful and difficult seasons.
The book concludes with a short Parent’s Guide, designed to help families talk together about what it truly means to “count it all joy.”
Learn more about the book and how to purchase here.
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