From Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God by Bruce A. Ware. Copyright 2009. Crossway Books. Page 79.
God is more concerned with our character than with our comfort, with our holiness rather than our happiness.
Consider two passages that help us see this. James says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4). And in a similar way Paul tells believers to "rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Romans 5:3-5). Only because God plans for our good through suffering can we live with hope even through we experience pain. Knowing that God uses suffering to help us grow gives us the faith to accept our suffering. Suffering should be seen, then, as part of the good purposes of God in our lives to bring about our good.
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