There is a story in the Bible about Israel, the people of God, complaining about not having food and God giving them Manna (some kind of bread) and Quail as a response to their complaint. Some of us may be tempted to condemn the Israelites for not trusting God when sometime ago, they experienced God saving them from the Egyptians who chased them in an attempt to enslave them again.

     How could the Israelites lose sight of God's care for them? I believe that the experience of pain, in the form of hunger, blinded them from the reality of God's care. This should be understandable since a usual human reaction to pain is to question God's care. This brings me to the next question, "how can God allow experiences that make people doubt his care, and even his reality?"

     One biblical character, Joseph, experienced injustice in the hands of his brothers (they sold him into slavery), years of punishment for a crime he did not commit, being forgotten by somebody he has helped, and not seeing his mother during her last days. Where is God in the midst of Joseph's experience of suffering? Although the question of why God allows experiences that make people doubt his care is not directly answered by Joseph's story, it gives us a glimpse of how God operates.

1. God's love is sometimes not shown by taking us out of terrible situations. In Joseph's case, God's love is shown by being given wisdom and favor in the eyes of those whom he came in contact with. Many generations later, God assured Jesus of his love but he did not spare him from suffering. I believe this shows that God wants us to look for him not outside of our suffering but in the midst of our suffering.

2. God can use suffering for a greater good. God's concern is not just for the individual, but for whole communities. In reflecting on his life, Joseph told his brothers, "what you meant for evil, God meant for good, so the lives of many would be saved." Joseph was the one who made sure there would be food during a great famine. Jesus' suffering, although men intended it for evil, resulted in the reconcilliation of sinful men to God. I believe this shows that God intends to use our suffering for greater good. 

     It may seem cruel for God to allow people to suffer for the greater good. However, for the one whose desire is the glory of God, this is a sweet consolation.