God is sovereign and we are not. Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?

Suffering exists because sin exists. God allows the world to persist in the tension between redemption and extant sin so that more might be saved. Not one of His sheep will be missing.

Man is born for trouble. Nails are made for pounding. We were made to be pounded into the shape of Christ.

Pain exposes out true hearts. Often, suffering kills the god we thought were worshipping and reveals to us the truth of who God really is.

God ordains our suffering, and if we believe that He is good, we must also believe that He will not allow us to suffer needlessly.

God will allow evil only to the degree that it brings about the very opposite of what it intends.

We are only a small part of redemptive history. Perhaps it’s true that nothing good will come to the sufferer out of his suffering, but if that’s the case, immense good will be produced elsewhere in ways that are beyond the sufferer’s ability to see.

Suffering is an integral part of God’s redemptive story. It is through suffering, not in spite of it, that God choses to extend His reign and rule to the world.  

Jesus took on a real, human body and carried not just our sin, but all our suffering to the cross. “He himself bore our sickness and he carried our pains.” He has suffered with us and for us to the last spasm.

Faithfulness requires bearing pain in bodies meant for love, just as Christ did. When we suffer faithfully, we are powerful witnesses to God’s faithfulness and love.