"Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you" (Deuteronomy 8:5).
The Bible teaches that God disciplines those He loves -- His precious children. When we suffer hardships and afflictions in this life He uses it to conform us to the likeness of Jesus who suffered indescribably.
God's fatherly discipline never seems pleasant at the time, but when we understand it is for our own good we can submit to it and say with Hezekiah, "Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish" (Isaiah 38:17).
But often we see that only when we look back. In the present, though, we can, if we choose, "Glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us" (Romans 5:3-5).
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