The first insight is: God did not cause our suffering. In the throes of despair we are tempted to question why God would want to hurt us so deeply. We are asking the wrong question, often arising from an image, perhaps conditioned from our youth, of a vengeful, punishing God of wrath—a “gotcha God.” God does not want us to suffer, and God does not cause our suffering. Because God has allowed something to happen does not mean that God has willed it to happen. When God created the universe, God built