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If God is all-powerful and all-loving, why does he let people suffer and die? When he lived on the earth, he calmed the ocean and raised the dead. If he is present with us now, why doesn’t he do the same things he did back then? Why does it seem that he is sleeping?
Joseph is an example of someone who endured suffering and came to a good end. But maybe that only works if you survive suffering and become the prime minister of one of the greatest countries on earth. But what if you come through the suffering and you simply feel exhausted and angry and a little bitter about what you went through?
While suffering, even onto death, is a Godly thing to do, suffering is not something we should seek, for the sake of suffering. Menno Simons and Pilgrim Marpeck died natural deaths because they actively sought ways to avoid suffering and death. God works to uphold people during times of suffering, but it would be wrong of us not to help people who are suffering.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean we forget what happened. Joseph had forgiven his brothers, but that didn’t keep him from testing his brothers. The only way to come through difficult situations well is to tell ourselves stories that indicate that God is present and working, but that is not the same as saying that God is going to control everyone and make them do what he wants. God does not make people do evil, and suffering is sometimes the result of people’s poor decisions.