Jeremiah 46:25-26. "The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: 'Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, says the Lord."

There is always an afterward, always something meant for our good after God's just punishments. God doesn't deliver anyone into the hands of their enemies in order to see them suffer. He only does it when it is necessary to chasten them and bring them to the "afterward" He wants for them.

We can go through the worst things imaginable: wars, natural disasters, epidemics, and yet there is always an afterward. Some die in these tribulations, yes, sometimes many, but those are brought to their own "afterward" in death. Maybe this was the precise time they could gain heaven, or the time they'd be most likely to accept God's mercy and reject their sinful ways. God is all good and all just, so I like to think He takes us when one of those two apply.

For those who do not die in these tragedies, we wake up one morning and realize it's all over. Then we start our afterward, having been chastened. Hopefully we learn the lessons we were meant to learn from our suffering and turn back to God, letting Him build our afterward into the best way forward. If we do not, then we will most certainly be chastened again, until we finally do learn the lesson and let God lead, while we follow.