I found two very powerful phrases in the teachings of Elder Renlund, Trust God and Let Him Prevail.
“All sin causes suffering, but not all suffering is caused by sin.” Because all sinful actions do not have immediate negative consequences for the wrongdoer (see Malachi 3:13–18), we may be fooled and mistakenly believe that we can willfully sin and that the consequences can be avoided. They cannot.
While repentance is joyful for us and it brings joy to the Savior and our Heavenly Father, our sins did cause the Savior to innocently suffer. He paid the price so that we do not have to endure the requisite suffering as punishment if we repent. But make no mistake: all sin causes suffering.
Eventually, God spoke to Job from a whirlwind. God did not defend Himself, explain Job’s suffering, or respond to Job’s claims of innocence. Rather, God criticized the lengthy discussions of Job and his friends, saying, “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2). To highlight their ignorance, God posed at least 66 questions, demanding that Job answer them. Job could not. (See Job 38–42.)
It was as if God had patiently and kindly said to Job, “If you cannot answer even one of my questions about the earth that I have created, is it possible that eternal laws exist that you do not understand? Are there assumptions you have made that are invalid? Do you understand my motives and how my plan of salvation and exaltation works? And can you foresee your future destiny?”
