The Backdrop
Loss is all around us. Even as a teenager, there’s a good chance you’ve already experienced the loss of someone you love—a family member or perhaps a friend your age. Almost every high school has experienced the tragic death of one of its students. When we experience loss, we inevitably ask: Why?

It’s a worthy and noble question. It’s a question that can help us find redemption from pain, but the question is not so helpful if we approach pain and loss with the notion that we never should experience it again. While loss always hurts, it never should come as a surprise. God made it abundantly clear that no one will get a free pass. Pain will happen.

The bite-sized chunks of Scripture below show two situations in which people experienced the ups and downs of this world. Print these passages. As you read the verses, draw a smiley face in the margin near the verses that show things going well for the people you see, and draw a sad face in the margin near the verses that show things going not so well.

The What
Abraham
“Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her. Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, ‘I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.’ So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. Afterward, Abraham buried his wife, Sarah, in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site. Abraham was now very old, and the LORD had blessed him in every way” (Genesis 23:1-4; Genesis 23:17-20; Genesis 24:1).

James and Peter
“It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. ‘Quick, get up!’ he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. Then the angel said to him, ‘Put on your clothes and sandals.’ And Peter did so. ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,’ the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen'” (Acts 12:1-11).

The So What
Genesis 23 is an entire chapter devoted to Abraham’s grief and the burying of his wife. Then Genesis 24 opens by saying God blessed Abraham in every way. In Acts 12, James is killed by Herod while Peter is set free by an angel. That simply doesn’t seem fair to James. It’s vividly clear that bad things will happen. Our question of “Why?” is more helpful when it’s followed by the question, “What good can come out of this?” rather than, “Why are you doing this to me?” God didn’t promise things would go smoothly for us, but He did promise to bring good out of bad, beauty out of ashes. Abraham grieved for his wife, but God still blessed him in every way. James was killed, but the church—as you can see throughout the rest of the Book of Acts—grew and became even more effective.

One more thing: God didn’t just leave us hanging on the promise that bad things would happen. He gave us a few other assurances to help us with the bad things. The verses below teach us about these assurances. As you read these passages, journal your thoughts on these questions:

What does this mean to me?
Does this give me hope? In what way?
How does this speak into the pain I’m feeling right now?
How can this truth help others around me who are hurting?

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, Jesus speaking).

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12-13).