In several studies at church we've been learning about suffering and pain. In one small group study we looked at what King David says in the midst of his suffering in Psalm 119:107 "I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word!" James says of suffering in James 1:2-3 "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." So, there must be something to be learned in pain and suffering that we cannot learn elsewhere. I believe there are three things we can only learn during difficult seasons of life.
Dependence on God.
When things are going well, humans tend to act as though they don't need God anymore. In our arrogance we assume all the good things in life exist because of chance or our deservedness. Often, when we are dealing with difficult season God uses it to train us to depend on him in all things.
The validity of God's wisdom.
Just like King David who raves about the reliability of God's word in the midst of fear and being surrounded by literal enemies, we too ought to seek the wisdom of God's word. Too often I find myself looking for human advice before I seek God's counsel (side note; seeking God's counsel in something does not mean we just randomly open the bible and see what it says, sometimes seeking God's counsel includes a step where you ask someone to help you through God's word). David wrote that even though he was surrounded by his enemies, he would not abandoned God's word.
God means to display glory.
In John 9 Jesus' disciples they had just passed by a fella and asked Jesus who had sinned for this fella to be born blind. Jesus' reply brings me so much joy "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." Unfortunately, I've heard this sort of question asked to parents who have had a miscarriage. Too often we think of difficulty as a result of specific sin. Now, there are times when our sin leads to difficulty (affairs, addictions, theft, etc.) But, more often than not God means to use our difficult season to demonstrate his providence, faithfulness, and lovingkindness to us. In the case of the man who was born blind God used his moment of healing to display who Jesus is to his peers and in that we learn about the goodness of God through this man's pain.
I hope we can learn that God means to use difficult season for his glory and our good. If you're in a difficult season do not think that it is because God has abandoned you, it is because God wants you to learn to depend on him, learned the validity of his wisdom, or to display his own glory!
