Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

While some of the other reasons for suffering can be experienced today, apocalyptic suffering is unique to those who are alive just prior to the close of this age.

Finally, God will often bring suffering into our lives to reveal our hearts. Faithfulness in times of stress and anxiety is an opportunity to prove our love to God. Job provides an excellent example of testimonial suffering. It was God who said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job?" (1:8) Having felt the affliction of great physical and emotional pain, Job was now in a position to demonstrate his love for God before the entire visible and invisible creation.

Consider someone preparing a cup of hot tea. As the individual dips the bag into the hot water and squeezes it against the spoon, the tea comes out into the water. The heat and the pressure do not create the tea; rather, they bring out what is already there. Or picture the foundation of a bridge cracking as a large truck crosses. The truck did not create the weakness in the structure; rather, it revealed it.

In a similar way, suffering does not create a poor or godly response, but brings out what is already in the heart. As pressure, stress, and pain enter our lives, we have the opportunity to see what is really in the heart.

When I was a kid the dentist gave my brother and me a package of red, chewable tablets. They were intended to reveal all of places that we missed when brushing our teeth. Sure enough, after brushing and then taking a tablet, our smiles were speckled with red. We were amazed at what we had missed. Suffering acts like those red tablets. Everything looks good and healthy until God brings a crisis into your life. Then, while enduring pain and suffering, our response shows exactly what is really in the heart.

This is why seasons of suffering are so ripe for repentance. Thinking ourselves to be righteous, through trials, God shows us how unfaithful we really are and how desperately we need His grace.