Book Quotes: God and Suffering

From Shame Lifter by Marilyn Hontz (page 144-145):

I needed Christ's resurrection power. Was I also, however, willing to say with the apostle Paul that "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings" (Philippians 3:10, italics mine)? Sure, I wanted to know Christ and to experience the power of His resurrection--but suffering? I appreciate Simone Weil's insight that "the extreme greatness of Christianity lies in the fact that it does not seek a supernatural remedy for suffering but a supernatural use for it." Life on earth is full of hardships and suffering, but God has the ability to intermingle the very worst negative and the positive and use it for our good--a supernatural good.

God never wastes anything--including suffering. He is a redeeming God.