How should you answer Hannah? There are simple truths you can tell her. You can tell her that God doesnt get sad like we do because hes different from us. At the same time, you can assure her that God loves us, and he isnt far away from us in our sadness. You might answer her like this.
God Doesnt Feel Sick or Get Lonely
Thats a great question, Hannah. Have you ever been sad before? What do you like to do when youre sad?
Hannah, how does sadness feel? Does it feel like youre sick to your stomach, like your tummy is in knots? When we get sad, we feel sadness the way we do because we have a body. But God is spirit. He doesnt have a body like us. This means that God doesnt get sad like we do when we cry and our tummy hurts (John 4:24).
You can tell a child that God doesnt get sad like we do. At the same time, you can assure her that God loves us, and he isnt far away from us in our sadness.
God created us to need other people. When you and I are sad or lonely, we might go to our mom and dad or a friend and ask them to give us a hug and help us feel better. We might cuddle with our dog or squeeze our favorite stuffed toy. If you or I didnt have a mom or a dad or our favorite toy, wed be sad.
But God isnt like us. We sometimes feel needy and scared and sad because we arent in control and things dont always turn out how we expect. But God is in control of everything. The Bible calls God our Heavenly Father because hes the Creator of everyone and everything. That tells us something about how special God is. Can the God who made everything get sad and lonely? No way!
God Never Has a Bad Day
There are a few other reasons God doesnt get sad like we do. We may get sad because our toy broke, or because our brother or sister was mean to us. We get sad because theres something we want, or even something we need, that we cant have. We may be sad because our dog ran away, and we cant do anything about it. God doesnt get sad like us because God is in charge. Nothing happens without God still being in control (1 Sam. 15:29).
Have you ever had a bad day? You wake up, and you just feel partly sad and partly mad. We are happy some days and sad on other days. We can even be happy one minute and sad the next! But God doesnt change. He is always the same (Mal. 3:6). God never has a bad day. He never wakes up feeling blue. That means we can be confident that were always worshiping the same God.
What God wants is always perfect, and hes always able to accomplish what he wants. This means God is always happy. Hell always be happy to hear from us because hes never having a bad day, or feeling blue. Hes always full of life and joy (Ps. 16:11).When we learn to trust that God is always doing the right thing, it will make us happy too.
The Bible does say God grieves over our sin (Gen. 6:6). He doesnt feel sadness the same way we do, but God does love us. This means that when were hurt or sad, God notices and cares for us (Matt. 10:29; 1 Pet. 5:7).
Jesus Felt Sadness Like Us
God loves us so much that he sent Jesus to rescue us from our sin and hurt (John 3:16). We can see Gods love for us in Jesus. Jesus is both God and man. That means that while Jesus was on earth, he was perfect like God and he had emotions like we do. Jesus was happy, sad, tired, and even angry at times.
Do you remember the story of Jesus and Lazarus (John 11)? Lazarus was Jesuss friend, and Lazarus had two sisters, Mary and Martha. They were Jesuss friends too.
One day Lazarus got very sick, and after a few days, he died. This made Jesus sad. Jesus cried for his friend (v. 35). Jesus was also angry because his friend died. Jesuss friends were all sad, and some of them were a little mad too.
Jesus Was Also Different from Us
But Jesus was different from us. Jesus knew his friend was going to die, and he knew Lazaruss death was the best thing for the people he loved. Because Lazarus died, Jesus could show his friends and us that he has the power to raise the dead. So Jesus didnt stay sad. He didnt stay mad. He looked at the tomb, and he said, Lazarus! Come out. And Lazarus did. Grave clothes and all. And all the sad people became glad people because Jesus is God.
You can answer Hannah or another child with something like what Ive written above, but its also important when were answering these sorts of questions from children that we pay attention to why theyre asking. A child may ask a question like Does God get sad? because shes sad, and shes wondering if God ever feels lonely and sad like she does. Be curious. Understand the childs heart motivations. Then pray for Gods help to not only answer the childs question but also to shepherd her heart toward Jesus.
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How should you answer Hannah? There are simple truths you can tell her. You can tell her that God doesnt get sad like we do because hes different from us. At the same time, you can assure her that God loves us, and he isnt far away from us in our sadness. You might answer her like this.
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