How to Keep Your Faith When You've Seen So Much Evil in the World: What God Taught Me as a Burn ICU Nurse

When you've witnessed unimaginable pain, how do you continue believing in God's goodness? Discover how faith, hope, and the miraculous love of Jesus shine even in humanity's darkest moments.

There are some things you can never unsee.

Before I became a Family Nurse Practitioner, I spent years working in critical care. One of the most emotionally challenging units I ever worked in was the Burn Intensive Care Unit.

People often think of burns as accidents.

Sometimes they were.

But many weren't.

I cared for children who had been placed in scalding bathtubs as punishment.

I cared for husbands and wives whose burns had been intentionally inflicted by someone who had promised to love them.

I cared for individuals who had made one tragic decision while intoxicated and found themselves fighting for their lives after falling into a fire pit.

Day after day, I witnessed unimaginable suffering.

If you've ever wondered how to keep your faith when you've seen so much evil in the world, I understand that question more than you may realize.

There are moments when the darkness seems overwhelming.

Moments when your heart quietly asks,

"God...where are You?"

How to Keep Your Faith When You've Seen So Much Evil in the World

Working in the Burn ICU taught me something I never expected.

Yes, I saw evil.

But I also saw extraordinary love.

I watched families refuse to leave a bedside for weeks.

I watched strangers donate blood for people they had never met.

I watched nurses, physicians, therapists, and countless healthcare workers pour every ounce of their knowledge and compassion into saving someone else's life.

Most of all...

I watched God.

There were patients whose injuries were so devastating that medicine could offer very little hope.

Yet somehow...

They survived.

There were moments when science said one thing, but God wrote a different ending.

As healthcare professionals, we celebrate medical advances, and rightly so. They save lives every day. But there were also moments that left even experienced clinicians humbled—recoveries that reminded us there are times when healing unfolds in ways we cannot fully explain.

Those moments strengthened my faith.

They reminded me that while medicine is a gift from God, God is never limited by medicine.

The World Is Broken, but God Has Not Changed

It's easy to scroll through today's headlines and believe that hatred is winning.

Violence.

Abuse.

Division.

Cruelty.

Sometimes it feels like darkness is everywhere.

But the darkness is not the whole story.

The same God who walked with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace still walks beside His children today.

The same Jesus who touched the sick, comforted the brokenhearted, and restored hope is still alive.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." — Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)

Our circumstances change.

Our world changes.

People change.

But Jesus never does.

That truth has carried me through some of the hardest seasons of my life.

The Brokenhearted Are Never Forgotten

If your heart has been wounded...

If you've experienced betrayal...

If you've endured trauma...

If you've wondered whether God sees your pain...

Please hear this.

He does.

Not because I simply believe it.

Because I have watched His compassion unfold in hospital rooms where hope seemed impossible.

I've seen peace settle over families in the middle of unimaginable grief.

I've witnessed courage rise in people whose bodies were covered in burns but whose spirits refused to surrender.

I've watched love outshine fear.

And I've experienced that same love in my own life.

God doesn't always remove us from the fire.

Sometimes He walks with us through it.

Sometimes His greatest miracle isn't changing our circumstances immediately.

Sometimes His miracle is giving us strength we never knew we had.

God Still Works Miracles Today

When people hear the word "miracle," they often think only of dramatic healings.

Sometimes miracles look like that.

Sometimes they don't.

Sometimes a miracle is the strength to get out of bed after devastating loss.

Sometimes it's finding the courage to forgive.

Sometimes it's choosing hope after years of despair.

Sometimes it's discovering peace that makes no human sense.

God still performs miracles every single day.

Not always in the ways we expect.

But always in ways that reveal His love.

The greatest miracle I have ever witnessed isn't simply a body healing.

It's a heart transformed by Jesus Christ.

Because a healed body will one day grow old again.

But a heart changed by Christ is changed for eternity.

God Is Close to the Brokenhearted

One verse has comforted me through countless difficult moments:

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." — Psalm 34:18 (NIV)

Notice what Scripture doesn't say.

It doesn't say we'll never experience heartbreak.

It says we will never experience it alone.

God draws near to broken hearts.

Not because they are weak.

But because He loves them.

Maybe today you're carrying wounds no one else can see.

Maybe your scars aren't physical.

Maybe they're emotional.

Maybe they're spiritual.

Maybe you've convinced yourself that your life can never be whole again.

Friend...

Don't let your scars convince you that God has stopped writing your story.

He specializes in redemption.

He restores what the world tries to destroy.

He brings beauty from ashes.

He gives hope where despair once lived.

And He has not forgotten you.

A Final Word of Hope

After everything I witnessed in the Burn ICU, one truth remains firmly planted in my heart.

Yes, there is evil in this world.

There always has been.

But there is something infinitely greater.

The love of Jesus Christ.

A love that enters hospital rooms.

A love that comforts grieving families.

A love that strengthens exhausted caregivers.

A love that refuses to abandon the brokenhearted.

A love that continues to perform miracles every single day.

If you're hurting today, don't give up.

Don't let the darkness convince you that the Light has gone out.

Because the tomb is still empty.

Jesus is still risen.

And hope is still alive.

No matter what you've been through...

No matter what scars you carry...

No matter how impossible your situation feels...

Your story is not over.

God is still writing it.

A Prayer for the Brokenhearted

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for being close to those whose hearts are breaking. Thank You for reminding us that even when this world feels dark, Your light has never stopped shining. Strengthen those who are weary, comfort those who grieve, and restore hope to those who feel like giving up. Help us trust that You are still working, even when we cannot see it. Teach us to keep our eyes on Jesus, who conquered sin, death, and the grave, and whose love never fails.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

💗 With love and grace,

Jennifer Nicole Green, NP-C Founder of Lolli Love — Faith-rooted, trauma-informed well-being for tired hearts.