The suffering of the righteous
Gustavo from Santiago, Chile wrote on hogmanay to express thanks for an article: "it helped me to understand that God's plan for man includes suffering. I've been a Christian for 30 years and am a preacher in our local church and also the daughter churches. I'm part of the leadership team and, in a voluntary capacity, am very active in the church's ministry. Eight months ago I lost my job and have been unable to find work. There have been desperate prayers, much suffering and many tears, all without a resolution; rejection and failure, pain in my soul, frustration, perplexity and also, anger. The Lord spoke to me of a desert. This is what I have lived through. Suffering has marked my life since childhood: often death, illness, and unemployment; frequent failure in business. It's as if back luck pursues me."