Suffering, affliction, and tribulation are all used by God to conform the believer into the image of Jesus Christ, and our sovereign God ordains all such events to that end.
1 Peter 4:19 says that we suffer according to the will of God, “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”
Knowing that any suffering experienced by believers is part of God’s overall sovereign plan provides its own comfort.
“What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live unto Him” (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A #1).
All trials, tribulations, persecutions, slanders, reproaches, and infirmities that inevitably come our way in this life are all ordained by our loving heavenly Father for His glory and the furtherance of the believer’s salvation.
