How much does understanding actually help us to cope with suffering?

An interesting feature of the Sabbath School lesson this quarter is that it consistently assumes there is comfort in knowing why bad things happen. This may well be true in some situations, but we ponder on the story of Job who was never told the answer to this question. The question of what more God could have done is posted in Isaiah 5, but not about God's actions to prevent suffering. Instead, it is an expression of God's yearning for his people to exhibit justice and become "the vines he delights in". Perhaps we can do this even without really understanding pain and suffering.