Last week while Chris and I were on a mission trip in Nicaragua, the front building of our church caught fire and burned to the ground. Although it has been difficult, I do not in any way want to compare myself with other believers who have truly suffered for the cause of Christ. I did, however, think it would be a good time to discuss why God's people suffer. The outline below is taken from a chapter in John Piper and Justin Taylor's book, "Suffering and the Sovereignty of God."

WHY GOD APPOINTS SUFFERING FOR HIS SERVANTS

1. Suffering Deepens Faith and Holiness

Hebrews 12 tells us that God disciplines his children through suffering. His aim is deeper faith and deeper holiness. "He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness" (Heb. 12:10).

2. Suffering Makes Your Cup Increase

By enduring suffering with patience, the reward of our experience of God's glory in heaven increases. "For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:17-18).

3. Suffering is the Price of Making Others Bold

God will use the suffering of his devoted emissaries to make a sleeping church wake up and take risks for God. When Paul was imprisoned in Rome he wrote of this to the church at Phillipi. "Most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear" (Phil. 1:14).

4. Sufferings Fills Up What is Lacking in Christ's Afflictions

The suffering of Christ's messengers ministers to those they are trying to reach and may open them to the gospel. This was one of the ways Paul brought the gospel to bear on the people in Thessalonica. "You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit" (1 Thess. 1:5-6).

5. The Supremacy of Christ Is Manifest in Suffering

Suffering...is meant by God to magnify the power and sufficiency of Christ. When God declined to remove the suffering of Paul's "thorn in the flesh," he said to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Suffering with joy proves to the world that our treasure is in heaven and not on the earth, and that this treasure is greater than anything the world has to offer. The supremacy of God's worth shines through the pain that his people will gladly bear for his name.

Piper, John and Justin Taylor. Suffering and the Sovereignty of God. Wheaton: Crossway Books. 20006. 91-109.