--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believed the reason there was a God was…" description: "\"I believed the reason there was a God was to prevent such atrocities from happening to the same person twice. But nothing prepared me for this: I have ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1f/jodi-picoult-45_atrocities_i-believed-the-reason-there-was-a-god-wa_774650.jpg" --- # I believed the reason there was a God was to prevent such… ![“I believed the reason there was a God was to prevent such atrocities from happening to the same person twice. But nothing prepared me for this: I have done what I've sworn I could never do; I have become my own nightmare... I have lost control.” quote by Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1f/jodi-picoult-45_atrocities_i-believed-the-reason-there-was-a-god-wa_774650.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1f/jodi-picoult-45_atrocities_i-believed-the-reason-there-was-a-god-wa_774650.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1f/jodi-picoult-45_atrocities_i-believed-the-reason-there-was-a-god-wa_774650.jpg) > “I believed the reason there was a God was to prevent such atrocities from happening to the same person twice. But nothing prepared me for this: I have done what I've sworn I could never do; I have become my own nightmare... I have lost control.” [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on how belief in a protective deity failed, leading to personal horror and loss of control. **In simple terms:** Faith failed, personal horror. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of belief. Themes faith guilt identity control Mood anguish reflective Type literary personal When to use this quote - grief counseling - ethical dilemmas - personal crisis Key Concepts theodicy psychological collapse self‑destruction Questions to Reflect On - Can belief be redefined after trauma? - How to rebuild self after loss of control? A Different Perspective Faith alone cannot prevent all suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atrocities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrocities/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [God Prevent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-prevent-2272575/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Lost Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-control/) [Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare/) [Nightmare Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare-lost-2030035/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Prepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prepared/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Sworn Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sworn-nightmare-5981168/) ## Related quotes > [I once had a nightmare that I had Lost everything in the world. All my friends and all my family. I'm just alone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-gonzales/i-once-had-a-nightmare-that-i-had-lost-everything-in-the-world-all-my/) [Kristin Gonzales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-gonzales/) > [I have this recurring nightmare where I'm lost in a strange forest, and my only hope is your sense of direction. Enough to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-morris/i-have-this-recurring-nightmare-where-i-m-lost-in-a-strange-forest/) [Gerald Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-morris/) > [“God’s no will prevent you from becoming the you you think you could be, so that you can become the you God’s knows you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ramos/god-s-no-will-prevent-you-from-becoming-the-you-you-think-you-could/) [David Ramos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ramos/) > [“The inability to see air does not prevent us from breathing. Being unable to see God should not prevent us from believing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maisie-a-smikle/the-inability-to-see-air-does-not-prevent-us-from-breathing-being/) [Maisie A. Smikle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maisie-a-smikle/) > [“Intimate communication with God will prevent us from lighting our common will on the alter of His holy purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisa-hope-wagner/intimate-communication-with-god-will-prevent-us-from-lighting-our/) [Alisa Hope Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisa-hope-wagner/) > [May God prevent us from becoming "right-thinking men"-that is to say men who agree perfectly with their own police.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/may-god-prevent-us-from-becoming-right-thinking-men-that-is-to-say/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [God, to prevent all escape, hath sown the seeds of death in our very constitution and nature, so that we can as soon run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gurnall/god-to-prevent-all-escape-hath-sown-the-seeds-of-death-in-our-very/) [William Gurnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gurnall/) > [Among all the religious persecutions with which almost every page of modern history is stained, no victim ever suffered but for violation of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mentor-johnson/among-all-the-religious-persecutions-with-which-almost-every-page-of/) [Richard Mentor Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mentor-johnson/) > [Human beings can be redeemed. Empires cannot. Our refusal to face the truth about empire, our refusal to defy the multitudinous crimes and atrocities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/human-beings-can-be-redeemed-empires-cannot-our-refusal-to-face-the/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Lately, I have been having nightmares, where I'm cut into so many pieces that there isn't enough of me to be put back together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/lately-i-have-been-having-nightmares-where-i-m-cut-into-so-many/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I think this is every mother's worst nightmare - something dreadful happening to her child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-think-this-is-every-mother-s-worst-nightmare-something-dreadful/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [When it's time to make music, that's about getting lost for me. To be a control freak is not half as good as being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-homme/when-it-s-time-to-make-music-that-s-about-getting-lost-for-me-to-be-a/) [Josh Homme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-homme/) > [“When we last out at ourselves for having lost control, we are reminded that we never can be in total control, that all life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/when-we-last-out-at-ourselves-for-having-lost-control-we-are-reminded/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [Behind her smile and beneath her laughter, she's sad and tired, she's hurt and alone, she has lost all control and she's just really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/behind-her-smile-and-beneath-her-laughter-she-s-sad-and-tired-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are times, especially on 'The Five,' where I've lost control for a moment. I always feel bad about it, but those always seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-perino/there-are-times-especially-on-the-five-where-i-ve-lost-control-for-a/) [Dana Perino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-perino/) ## More by Jodi Picoult > [You get through it, you just never get over it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-get-through-it-you-just-never-get-over-it/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Let me guess," Eric says, "You never meant for it to happen." "Hell, yes, I did. I've wanted her since you two started dating."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/let-me-guess-eric-says-you-never-meant-for-it-to-happen-hell-yes-i/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“It’s the difference between dancing along the eggshell crust of acquaintance and diving into the messy center of a relationship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-s-the-difference-between-dancing-along-the-eggshell-crust-of/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Because hate's just the flip side of love. Like heads and tails on a dime. If you don't know what it feels like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/because-hate-s-just-the-flip-side-of-love-like-heads-and-tails-on-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Some women are meant to change the world, while others are meant to hold it together. 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I love the fact that at least sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-love-feeling-loved-i-don-t-love-knowing-that-i-will-always-come-in/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Music is the language of memory”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/music-is-the-language-of-memory/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [But there is a different between mending someone who's broken and finding someone who makes you complete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/but-there-is-a-different-between-mending-someone-who-s-broken-and/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“sometimes words are not big enough to contain all the feelings you are trying to pour into them. My”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/sometimes-words-are-not-big-enough-to-contain-all-the-feelings-you/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The age wasn't as important as the milestones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-age-wasn-t-as-important-as-the-milestones/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark... Every second, another streak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-night-is-falling-down-around-us-meteors-rain-like-fireworks-quick/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“When she had packed all the artifacts that made up their personal history into liquor store boxes, the house became strictly a feminine place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-she-had-packed-all-the-artifacts-that-made-up-their-personal/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/maybe-who-we-are-isn-t-so-much-about-what-we-do-but-rather-what-we-re/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Here's what I hadn't realized : the mother you haven't seen for almost 36 years isn't your mother. She is a stranger. 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But looking into my sister's eyes, we seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shannon/i-don-t-know-how-to-stop-the-atrocities-i-don-t-know-how-to-make/) [Lisa Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shannon/) > [War is horrible no matter what. There's going to be atrocities, there's going to be horrible things that happen in war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-hoffman/war-is-horrible-no-matter-what-there-s-going-to-be-atrocities-there-s/) [Mike Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-hoffman/) > [Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities War. 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