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b'Let\\u2019s continue our study on suffering. Suffering exists because God\\u2019s good world has been broken by sin. Today, we\\u2019ll talk about how, for believers, suffering has significance\\u2014or meaning\\u2014for our lives, both in the present and for eternity. Scripture reveals this in a couple of ways. First, the apostles (people who walked with Jesus while He was on earth) taught that believers are called to share both in Christ\\u2019s comfort and in His sufferings (1 Peter 2:21). Because we follow a suffering Savior, we can expect to suffer as well. These authors also pointed out that when believers suffer, it\\u2019s intimately connected to Christ\\u2019s own suffering, using phrases like \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153share his suffering\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (Romans 8:17). So, we can remind ourselves that our suffering as the body of Christ has unique significance because it\\u2019s connected to the suffering of Jesus. In our suffering, we can look to Jesus\\u2014who suffered the cross on our behalf, then resurrected from the dead\\u2014and find comfort in His presence. We/are never alone in our pain..Second, God can use affliction to draw us near to Himself\\u2014which is the best place to be (Psalm 73:28). One psalmist says: \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (Psalm 119:71). Through the Holy Spirit, God is always at work to lovingly form us more and more into the likeness of Jesus because He knows it\\u2019s the only way for us to be truly whole. The author of Hebrews echoes this, stating God disciplines His children\\u2014and that His discipline is \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (Hebrews 12:10). While/not all suffering is necessarily discipline, these and other passages still give us a lot/to think about (Luke 13:1-5; John 9:1-3; Colossians 1:24)..As a teen, most of the Bible studies I used tiptoed around the topic of suffering. Yet, if we don\\u2019t dig into scriptural truth about suffering, how can we withstand difficulties\\u2014including persecution\\u2014without losing hope in God\\u2019s love and/goodness? But if we know we will face great trials, we can be a bit more ready for their inevitable arrival. However, as Peter joyfully reminds us in 1 Peter 1:6, our troubles are but \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153for a little while,\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d and our hope and comfort in Jesus will last forever. Amen!/\\u2022 G. Kam Congleton.\\u2022 God can draw us nearer to Himself at any time (including good times) and through any circumstance. How/might God use suffering to help us grow closer to Him?/.He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:4 (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nPs.73.28|Ps.119.67-Ps.119.71|2Cor.1.4-2Cor.1.7|Heb.12.5-Heb.12.12'