People often find that their most profound growth occurs during times of suffering rather than through traditional spiritual activities like teaching, fellowship, worship, or reading theology. Facing pain and loss seems to deepen their faith and understanding in ways that other experiences do not. This suggests that suffering has a unique role in spiritual development, revealing truths that might remain hidden otherwise.
It was not pastoral teaching, or small group fellowship, or worship services, or books of theology - rather, they mentioned suffering. "People said they grew more during seasons of loss, pain, and crisis than they did at any other time." We discover the hidden value of suffering only by suffering - not as part of God's original or ultimate plan for us, but as a redemptive transformation that takes place in the midst of trial. - Philip Yancey