Where is God in the midst of suffering and pain? This is the question we began this story with. I said in the beginning that we would just let this story play out and allow the narrative to challenge our presupposed answers to this big question of life. Well, here we are—at the end of the story. What have we learned?
The Christian faith, perhaps with the exception of Judaism and Islam, stands unique among world religions and philosophies in addressing the question posed above. (See Tim Keller's video starting at 14:00) The Christian answer lies in the complex theology offered in Joseph's words:
Genesis 45:4–11
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. 9 Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’
Genesis 50:15–21
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. 18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. 19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
We must have room for statements like this in our theology. Theologies such as the prosperity gospel and moralistic, therapeutic, deism, which many Christians in our society have adopted, cannot handle these statements.
The Christian response to this question lies, in part, in the distinction between the different senses of God's will (Piper demonstrates the biblical basis for this in the video I've linked you to below). The first is God's will of command (I've also seen it referred to as the perfect will of God or simply "God's wish will"). In this sense, God did not will for Joseph's brothers to sell him into slavery because it was a violation of God's moral law. However, it was a part of God's will in the sense of his will of decree (I've also heard it referred to as his permissive will or "will will"). Everything then that happens is in God's will in this sense because nothing can happen outside of his will. Therefore, Joseph can say that what his brothers did to him was indeed a part of God's will; in fact, it was God's doing.
We see this also in the life of Jesus. In Peter's sermon at Pentecost he says, "This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. (Acts 2:23)
What we see in this story is that "God works through our choices, not around or despite them." (Keller) God even works out his plan through evil, even his plan of salvation through Jesus on the cross. It is a mystery exactly how God's sovereignty and human freedom work together in this way, yet it is one we see all throughout the Scripture so it must be held in tension. As Carson says, "It must be the case that God stands behind good and evil in somewhat different ways; that is, he stands behind good and evil asymmetrically." (D.A. Carson) Moral evil cannot be done outside the purposes of God, yet that evil is not morally chargeable to him since the perpetrators are responsible. Yet when good things happen they are directly attributable to him. (James 1:17)
Keller sums this up nicely, "The sovereignty of God is mysterious but not contradictory. It means that we have great incentive to use our wisdom and our will to the best effect, knowing God holds us to it and knowing we will suffer consequences from foolishness and wickedness. On the other hand, there is an absolute promise that we cannot ultimately mess up our lives. Even our failures and troubles will be used for God's glory and our benefit." (Tim Keller)
Why is this important? It is not a question of if we will face suffering; it is a question of when. This theology provides us the impulse and personal responsibility to strive to make the world a better place and alleviate suffering where we find it. While at the same time it also gives us the peace of mind that we ultimately cannot screw up God's plans no matter how many foolish decisions we make or how much chaos and evil exist in our world. This is a balance that we must hold in tension and will pay dividends in our life when we walk through suffering ourselves or walk through suffering with loved ones.