The news has seemed so dark lately. I read about Lindsey Clancy and the deaths of her children. Then I clicked on a story about it. Suddenly, my social media feed filled with more horrific headlines. It’s surreal.

Every headline seems to bring another tragedy. Another family suffers. Another child is hurt. I can’t begin to grasp what some people endure. And I can’t understand how a mother or father could hurt their own child. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.

Imagine a child looking to a parent for love and protection. Instead, that child faces resentment, cruelty, or disgust. It makes me angry. I simply cannot imagine it.

Some abuse of children seems worse than death

I came across a video of a young girl describing alleged abuse by her grandmother and others. Her story included disturbing claims about occult rituals and sexual abuse. The segment aired on 60 Minutes Australia under the title Satan’s Children.

Critics have challenged those claims. Some have linked the story to the satanic panic of the 1980s. Still, watching her speak was unsettling. She seemed sincere to me.

And then I think about Jeffrey Epstein. His crimes showed that powerful people can hide terrible abuse. That doesn’t prove every disturbing allegation we hear. But it certainly makes me question how often victims go unheard and how little justice is actually given.

War, politics, and more suffering

Then there are the wars and the endless political arguments. Ukraine has suffered for years. Meanwhile, Trump’s promises of a quick end to the war have collided with a much harder reality.

I also question the motives behind some political decisions. For example, I read this report about a proposed Russian oil deal involving Jared Kushner. It raises questions for me about whose interests come first.

And Iran? I watch the conflict and wonder what the strategy is. I want innocent civilians protected. At the same time, I want leaders to confront threats with clarity and resolve. Instead, we get more speeches, more political theater, and more suffering. 

Sometimes it feels as though everyone is arguing while ordinary people pay the price.

The system can take everything you’ve worked for

I see another kind of suffering in my work with clients. People spend decades saving for retirement. They buy homes, build accounts, and hope to leave something behind. Then a long-term care crisis changes everything.

I once met a man who had more than $500,000 when he retired. Fifteen years later, he asked me to visit his home. He wanted help making the little money he had left last.

His wife had become seriously ill. Their health insurance covered medical bills, but it didn’t cover the long-term care she needed. At the time, they also had too many assets to qualify for certain State assistance programs.

So he spent down his retirement savings. He sold their recreational belongings. Somehow, he kept their home. His wife had died six months before our meeting. Now he was hoping I could work a miracle.

I’ve also met families who expected to receive an inheritance. Instead, they faced debts, expenses, taxes, and legal complications. Not every estate owes estate tax, of course. But poor planning can still leave a painful mess.

There are ways to plan ahead and protect what you can. Yet many people are too busy to deal with it. They leave their loved ones the they’ll figure it out plan. It’s an expensive plan, but it certainly keeps everyone busy.

Anything good in this life comes from Jesus

People forget what the Bible says about Satan’s influence in this world. Read 1 John 5:19, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 2:2, and Luke 4:6.

We wake up expecting things to go well. We get into our cars and assume we’ll arrive safely. We make plans and expect them to work. We almost treat tomorrow as a promise.

But why do we take the good for granted?

Scripture warns us about an enemy who seeks to destroy. John 10:10, 1 Peter 5:8, Ephesians 6:11, and Luke 22:31 all speak to spiritual danger. That warning matters every single day.

Yet when something goes wrong, we often get angry with God. We ask why He allowed it. We rarely stop to thank Him for the countless things that went right.

Think about the book of Job. Satan wanted to destroy Job’s life. But he could act only within the limits God allowed. When those protections were removed, Job suffered terribly.

That story changes how I see the world. I don’t believe the good in our lives is something we simply earn or deserve. I believe it is evidence of God’s grace.

Every safe trip home. Every moment of peace. Every act of love. Every day we get to hold the people who matter to us. Those things are gifts.

So when anything good happens in this life, I thank Jesus. Because without His grace, what hope would we have?

Copyright © 2026 Jacob C. Larson. All rights reserved.

Read more here: The Resurrection and the Life