29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,
Suffering is a gift. God wants to use both the easy and the difficult times as blessings in our lives. Everything that happens in our lives can be viewed from God’s perspective as something positive. This lesson is almost impossible to learn in the big crisis of life. It must be learned in the small bumps before we get to the brick wall. We can prepare ourselves for the inevitable difficult suffering by learning to see the small difficulties as opportunities to draw in close to the Lord. If we learn to draw in close now, when the trials are small, then we will have learned that His strength will see us through any trial that might come our way. Paul had learned this over many years of suffering. He viewed his suffering this way, perhaps because he spent several years killing believers before he became a believer himself. I think he might have thought it was fair that he suffer. Part of the message when he did become a believer was that he would suffer for His name sake. When I go through my sufferings, I want people to look at the God who carries me through, not at the injustice of the suffering, or the pain I am enduring. I want them to see Christ. How about you? Do you want people to see you, or to see Jesus?
The Arnold Journey 