God wants us to lay our burdens on Him and rest in His love. It is His responsibility to work out the purpose and plan in our hardships. Only our refusal to trust Him..can hinder His purposes in our lives.

God uses suffering to purge sin from our lives, strengthen our commitment to Him, force us to depend on grace, bind us together with other believers, produce discernment, foster sensitivity, discipline our minds, spend our time wisely, stretch our hope, cause us to know Christ better, make us long for truth, lead us to repentance of sin, teach us to give thanks in time of sorrow, increase faith, and strengthen character.

Because of my sufferings, I will appreciate the scars of Christ and also the scars of other believers on that glorious day. In heaven, I will see men and women that in the world were cut in pieces, burnt in flames, tortured and persecuted, eaten by beasts, and drowned in the seas -- all for the love they had for the Lord. What a privilege it will be to stand in their ranks! But what a shame it would be if, in conversing with them, we could only shrug our shoulders and prattle: 'Me? Suffer?' Perhaps we would bite our complaining tongues more often if we stopped to picture this scene in heaven. The examples of other suffering saints are meant to inspire us upward on our heavenly journey home.

~ Joni Eareckson Tada