As Hurricane Milton sweeps through the headlines, many children and young people are closely following the real-time news updates, videos, and stories of those directly affected by this powerful storm. Social media platforms bring vivid images and emotional reports into our homes from real lives and in real time, and many young hearts are left grappling with difficult questions. For Christian parents and leaders, these moments are opportunities to engage deeply with our children, helping them understand God’s character and His purposes in the midst of turmoil and tragedy.
Sit in the Struggle to Understand
When children see images of homes destroyed, families displaced, and communities struggling to survive, it’s natural for them to ask, “Why would God let this happen?” It’s a question that touches on the problem of suffering and the brokenness of our world. It’s important that we don’t dismiss or simplify their concerns but instead guide them into a deeper understanding of God’s sovereignty, His goodness, and the reality of life in a fallen world.
Teaching Children to Grieve, Not Just Watch
One of the dangers of our social media age is the tendency toward passive observation—what could be called a kind of “voyeurism” of suffering. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube allow us to scroll through videos and images of tragic events without truly engaging our hearts. Some children and young people may become desensitised to the suffering they see, learning to watch without compassion. It is vital that we teach our children to respond to such images with grief, empathy and prayer, rather than mere curiosity or detachment.
It’s Right to Grieve: Reflecting God’s Heart
Grief is a godly response to the world’s brokenness. When Jesus encountered suffering, He was “moved with compassion” (Matthew 9:36), weeping over Jerusalem and at Lazarus’s tomb (Luke 19:41; John 11:35). We can teach our children that sadness over the impact of Hurricane Milton is not only appropriate but reflects God’s heart.
When children feel sadness, fear, or anger over such suffering, affirm that these emotions are a natural response to the world’s brokenness. Grieving shows that we recognise things are not as they should be and echoes God’s desire for restoration and peace (Ezekiel 33:11).
Moving Beyond Voyeurism: Active Compassion and Prayer
We must work to move our children beyond passive consumers of tragedy to active engagement with the suffering they see. Encourage them to ask, “What can we pray for?” and “How can we help?”
Engaging in prayer is one way to teach our children that God cares about every person affected by Hurricane Milton. It turns their attention from just watching events unfold to bringing those concerns to the One who holds all things in His hands.
Parents can also model what it means to respond with compassion. This might look like supporting relief efforts or finding ways to contribute to the recovery. Acts of kindness, even from a distance, show our children that we are called to reflect God’s love and care to those in need. Compassion moves us from passive observers to active participants in the work of God’s kingdom, even as we long for the day when such suffering will be no more.
Wrestling with the Hard Questions: Is God Still Good?
When confronted with the devastation caused by events like Hurricane Milton, children may naturally ask, “Is God really good?” These questions are not only sincere but touch on some of the most profound truths of our faith. It’s crucial to avoid offering shallow or hasty answers. Instead, we are called to walk alongside our children in their questions, pointing them to the deep wells of Scripture that reveal the character and purposes of God, even when life’s mysteries remain.
Scripture is unflinching in its acknowledgment of suffering. The Psalms are filled with cries of “How long, O Lord?” and “Why do You hide Your face?” (Psalm 13:1; Psalm 42:9). These prayers teach us that God not only allows us to bring our struggles before Him but also invites our lament. In the story of Job, we see a man who, in the face of unimaginable suffering, wrestles with God’s purposes. Yet even in Job’s darkest moments, God does not rebuke his questions but reveals the vastness of His wisdom and sovereignty (Job 38-41). This is a reminder that God’s ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9), and that the mysteries of His providence often lie beyond our understanding.
God’s Sovereignty and His Goodness: A Paradox Held in Faith
The heart of our response should be the biblical truth that God is both sovereign and good. These two attributes are not in tension but work together perfectly in His character. The bible teaches that God’s sovereignty extends over all creation—over the rise and fall of nations (Acts 17:26), over the smallest sparrow that falls to the ground (Matthew 10:29), and yes, even over the winds and the waves of a hurricane (Psalm 107:29). This means that nothing, not even the chaos of a storm, is outside His control.
Yet God’s sovereignty is never arbitrary or cold. It is always exercised in line with His goodness. The Bible affirms, “The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made” (Psalm 145:9). The Heidelberg Catechism beautifully echoes this truth, teaching that God’s providence is His “almighty and ever-present power, whereby, as with His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth” and that all things come to us not by chance but by His fatherly hand. Even in suffering, we are never outside the care of our heavenly Father.
God’s Restraint of Evil: A Merciful Act of Providence
A key aspect of God’s goodness in a fallen world is His active restraint of evil. The presence of suffering, including natural disasters, is a result of the Fall—sin has marred creation, and the earth groans under its weight (Romans 8:22). Yet, if God were to remove His restraining hand, the effects of sin and evil would be far more devastating. It is by His mercy that the full force of chaos does not overwhelm us.
We see this truth in God’s conversation with Job: “This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt” (Job 38:11). God has set boundaries even for the destructive forces of nature, and His sovereign control ensures that their power is limited. When Jesus calmed the storm with a word (Mark 4:39), He demonstrated that the wind and waves are subject to Him, just as they remain under His control today.
For parents, this truth offers a profound comfort to share with children: even when God allows suffering, He is actively working to limit evil’s reach. The very fact that more lives are not lost and that communities often recover and rebuild is a testimony to His merciful restraint and sustaining grace (Colossians 1:17).
Trusting in God’s Good Purposes
Romans 8:28 assures us that “God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” This doesn’t mean that every event is good in itself, but that God is able to bring about His redemptive purposes even through tragedy. The cross of Christ is the ultimate example of this: the greatest evil ever committed—humanity’s rejection and crucifixion of the Son of God—became the means of our greatest hope and salvation.
For children struggling to understand why God allows suffering, parents can point them to the cross, where God’s love and justice meet. Here, we see that God is not distant from our pain; He entered into it, bearing the weight of sin and suffering so that we might have life. And because Jesus has conquered sin and death, we look forward to the day when He will return to make all things new (Revelation 21:4). In the meantime, we trust that God’s purposes, though often hidden, are always good.
Conclusion: Holding Fast to God’s Unchanging Goodness
As parents help their children grapple with these difficult questions, it is important to anchor them in the unchanging character of God. He is both sovereign and good, wise beyond our understanding, and full of mercy. While we may not always see the reasons behind the storms of life, we can trust that God’s hand is upon them, working for the good of His people and the glory of His name. In this, we find a sure hope that sustains us through every trial, confident that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39).
