Do you believe it was medicinal punishment for some infraction?
It is what appears to be punishment at the time, but was actually designed by God to help the person.
NYer's experience is a perfect example. At the time, you're asking, "Why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this awful thing?" Only later do you find out why.
I believe it was “medicinal” punishment for any number of past sins.
I believe it was “punishment” in the sense that “at the time,” it seemed like “a curse” or a “bad break.”
I believe it was “of God” because it saved her life.
God’s ways are not our ways. Angels are sentient beings far higher in intellect than we (they were given only one test: “friend or foe?”). That is straight from Frank Sheed’s “Theology and Sanity.”
Nuff said.