"Though He Cause Grief"

I was struck as I read last night these verses from Lamentations:

For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men, (31-33).

This is substantial. Jeremiah tries to explain the immense complexity of God and those who suffer at his hand by saying two things: (1) God causes grief, and (2) He does not willingly do it. So this means that God does see fit to bring about some suffering. However, he never does so joyfully. Or, as Ezekiel records from God, "As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked," (33:11). What are we to make of this? I think John Piper is correct when he writes in Suffering and the Sovereignty of God,

Jeremiah gives us a glimpse into the mysterious complexity of the mind of God in Lamentations 3:32-33, “Though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.” Literally: “He does not from his heart [millibbô] afflict or grieve the children of men.” He ordains that suffering come— “though he cause grief”—but his delight is not in the suffering, but in the great purpose of creation: the display of the glory of the grace of God in the suffering of Christ for the salvation of sinners, (p. 86).

So when I stand outside my daughter's room and listen to her scream herself to sleep, I do not do so willingly, "from my heart." I do so that she might find a deeper joy than would have been available had she not gone through her little trial. God looks upon the world same way, for his glory and our good (salvation).

See also the article by Piper, "Are There Two Wills in God"?