Suffering: Indispensable Component of True Success

John Schroeder reminds us of that in an outstanding piece inspired by yet another wise and insightful article by David Wayne, the Jollyblogger.

From Wayne:

Nowhere does God attach a promise to the gospel that it will make anyone successful, but He does attach many promises of suffering to the gospel. It follows that gospel driven leaders will be those who suffer well.

From Schroeder:

We are called to success, but not success as the world knows it, but success that starts on a cross.

Good, provocative stuff. Both Schroeder and Wayne are claiming, with good Biblical warrant I think, that suffering is not only inevitable in this life, but that it's an indispensable tool in God's efforts to help us become the people we were made to be.

Through suffering, we can learn dependence on God and human empathy, among other things.

I don't like to suffer in any way. I rail against God whenever suffering comes my way, even in its most mundane forms.

But the person tuned into God's purposes for her or his life can look back on times of suffering and failure and see how God uses such experiences to shape us. Through them, we can mature as people and as believers.

Go read David's and John's posts.

You might also be interested in reading this series, in which I tackle the reality of suffering:
When Tragedy Hits the Innocent, Part 1
When Tragedy Hits the Innocent, Part 2
When Tragedy Hits the Innocent, Part 3
When Tragedy Hits the Innocent, Part 4
The Light of the World!