A. Suffering causes you to seek His Word:

DEU 8:2. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

DEU 8:3. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

PSA 94:12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;

PSA 119:71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

B. Suffering refines & purifies you:

JOB 23:10. But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

PSA 66:10. For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.

ISA 48:10. Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

ZEC 13:9. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

HEB 12:9. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

HEB 12:10. For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

HEB 12:11. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

PRO 17:3. The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.

ISA 1:25. And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

C. It teaches you obedience:

PSA 119:67. Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.

HEB 5:8. Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

2CO 7:10. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

2CO 7:11. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

D. It causes you to bring forth more fruit:

JOH 15:2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

E. It humbles you:

DEU 8:2. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

DEU 8:16. Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

2CH 33:12. And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,

LAM 3:1. I AM the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

LAM 3:17. And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.

LAM 3:18. And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD:

LAM 3:19. Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

LAM 3:20. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

F. It teaches you patience:

ROM 5:3. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

G. It makes you wiser:

ECC 7:2. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.

ECC 7:3. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.

H. It gives you compassion & mercy on others:

2CO 1:4. Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

HEB 2:17. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

HEB 2:18. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

HEB 4:15. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

I. It draws you close to & makes you appreciate loved ones:

2CO 7:4. Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.

2CO 7:5. For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.

2CO 7:6. Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;