Sufferings

All of us go through things... things that hurt. I don't know anyone who likes to go through suffering. You hear people make the joke that it(challenges/suffering/pain) comes in 'three's'. I mean, it's almost never just one thing that happens to us. I can almost picture Satan just continuing to kick us when we have already been knocked down.
How many of us have compared our own sufferings to the life of Job. Although, very few of us have lost everything... Job lost his children/family, he lost all of his herds of sheep and his shepherds and then he lost all his camels... (his riches.)Then he had health issues.(But, Satan was limited by God, he was told he couldn't take Job's life.)
Then on top of all of this, he was blamed for it... his friends said that it all happened to him because he must have sinned. Job even thought about what his friends were telling him. What he couldn't understand was why he was suffering so much when he was sure he had done nothing to deserve such pain. Even his wife wanted him to curse God.
He did question God... as we all have when we are in the midst of pain. Job even cursed the day he was born. I have personally wanted to through my hands up in the air... feeling like it would be better off if I was never born... or... I give up, I would rather die than deal with all this.
Often we do suffer consequences for bad decisions and actions. Job's willingness to repent and confess for his sins is a good guideline for us. Sometimes suffering shapes us for special service to others. Sometimes suffering is an attack by Satan on our lives. And sometimes we just never know why we suffer. At those times are we willing to trust God in spite of unanswered questions.

Dear brothers and sisters, when (not if) troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when (not if) your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete. needing nothing.
God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptations. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:2-4,12

Trails give us strength... when we respond to them with the right attitude.
Job was a man of faith, he showed his faith in his actions... he may have questioned God, but he never cursed and blamed God.
Job was also a man of patience and endurance.

For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy. James 5:10-11

We know the end of Job's story... he was given everything back. God blessed and returned all that Job had lost, because Job was faithful.

We have to rely on God in our times of suffering. We have to know that He sees the 'big' picture. He has a plan for what He is allowing us to go through. He will use it to glorify His name in the end.