1 Peter 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.
But why the suffering? That's the real question, isn't it? I understand that God will restore me and make me better than before, but why does He have to use suffering? I actually think I may have an answer. I don't know that it's completely correct, but it makes sense in my life for what I have seen and experienced personally and in watching the lives of others. So, let's get to it. When we suffer we typically draw closer to God because we find that we have to. We are driven to our knees in prayer when we truly experience suffering. We spend time in prayer building a stronger, deeper relationship with God. Our suffering connects us to others as well. None of us ever go through an experience that no one else has ever had. We find people who have similar stories with similar struggles and we build relationships with them. Suffering produces a softening of the soul. It makes our hearts malleable and vulnerable. In this vulnerable state, the Holy Spirit is able to transform our hearts and bring an eternal focus to our souls that we cannot gain otherwise. When life is going awesome, we remain focused on our earthly circumstances in a way that can't produce eternal wisdom. This is the reason for suffering. Suffering causes our focus to become eternal as we are transformed by the Spirit, held by the Savior, and comforted by our brothers and sisters in Christ giving us eternal wisdom and peace. And on the other side, a strength and authority no person could ever gain on his/her own. It is of God. That's what I think anyway. :-)
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