Last year as I taught through a couple of Psalms, I came across something by Macarthur on suffering...perhaps it will be an encouragement to you:
"Suffering is used to increase our awareness of the sustaining power of God to whom we owe our sustenance. God uses suffering to refine, strengthen and keep us from falling. Suffering allows the life of Christ to be manifest in our mortal flesh and allows us to share in His suffering. Suffering bankrupts us, drains us of all human resources and makes us dependent on God. Suffering imparts the mind of Christ who was willing to strip Himself and become a servant and bow to the needs of others. Suffering teaches us that God is more concerned with character than comfort. Suffering teaches us that the greatest good of the Christian life is not the absence of pain, but the presence of spiritual maturity, or perfection. Suffering can be chastening from God for sin and rebellion. Suffering teaches us obedience and self-control when it comes in a chastening form.
"Suffering is a voluntary way to demonstrate the love of God by personal self-sacrifice. Suffering is an inevitable part of the struggle with our fallen natures and the sin that is in us. Suffering is part of the struggle against an evil world and Satan and demons and evil people. Suffering is part of the struggle for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Suffering is part of the struggle for the proclamation of the gospel. Suffering is part of the struggle against injustice. Suffering is part of the struggle to lift up the name of Christ. Suffering indicates how the righteous are able to share in Christ's sufferings. Suffering produces endurance and endurance produces an eternal reward. Suffering forces mutual love and ministry and the administration of our gifts for the common good. It makes us come to each other's rescue.
"Suffering then binds Christians together in a common purpose. Suffering produces discernment, it produces knowledge, understanding, and allows us to share what we've learned and understood with others. Through suffering God is able to obtain our broken and contrite spirit which He desires. Suffering causes us to discipline our minds by making us focus our hope on the grace to be revealed at the revelation of Jesus Christ. In other words, it makes heaven all the more wonderful and it causes us to anticipate it with a greater amount of joy. Suffering teaches us to number our days so we can present to God a heart of wisdom. Suffering is sometimes part of reaching the lost with the gospel. Suffering allows us to become strong enough to hold up the weak. God desires truth in the innermost being and one way He achieves it is through suffering. Suffering in this life will be rewarded in the life to come. Suffering is always coupled with the greater amount of grace. Suffering teaches us to give thanks in times of sorrow and to appreciate the times when we don't suffer. Suffering increases faith. Suffering allows God to manifest His care."
--MacArthur from the appendix in When God Weeps by Tada
