STOP AND THINK – The right response to [suffering] is not pleasure; it’s holiness. (Paraphrased from political and cultural columnist David Brooks)
What’s your first response to pain? How to get rid of it, right? But, if you believe that life is more than just a material, physical existence, you probably also want to discover the purpose of the trial. Surely, it’s not to bring happiness but, as Brown suggests, it may be given to cause us to think beyond the physical to discover God’s higher purpose for us.
God to a suffering Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)