Whether death or sickness, family problems or friendship hassles, struggles with grades or questions about the future a similar question hides behind each one. And though God doesn t quite fill in that blank, at least he is not silent on the subject of suffering. In fact, he has so much to say about hardship that you get the impression he was not surprised by it. That he fully expected it. Which he did.
Hardships come with purpose.
On the other hand, he certainly does make use of it, as if he won t let even the difficult things we face be wasted. They set a process in motion that improves our character. Now, if this process means I must hurt, as it often does, I might never choose hardship. Yet afterward, seeing the good that came as a by-product of my struggles, I may find my resentment fading. In fact, God s ability to bring good out of bad is so strong that the words joys and trials can be used in the same sentence, without seeming ridiculous.