A post like this is really important, a good job as usual from you @gavvet. In our day-to-day experiences of life, we have opportunities to learn to be like Jesus, to choose to be patient, to be considerate, to help others, to pray. On the job and in our homes, Jesus has something to say about what we do.
What about the trials and difficulties of life? We wish they’d go away, but Jesus never promised that. Instead, he promised us problems: "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33). "No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also" (John 15:20).
God uses our difficulties as opportunities for us to learn. Even Jesus had to experience troubles. "Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). If even Jesus had to learn through suffering, we can expect it to be part of our training program, too.
We will experience problems in life whether or not we follow Jesus. Our choice is not whether to have problems, but whether we learn from those problems. Do we react to them the way Jesus would, or do we become bitter and seek revenge? We learn more about love when we love people who are hard to love; we learn more about forgiveness when people sin against us. Our character is shaped more like Jesus not so much in good times, but in difficult times.
We do not always understand why God allows people to suffer. We may not see any good in it, or any lesson to learn. But God assures us that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). We may not know how—we just have to trust him.
Whatever the trial, we can at least be assured of this: "Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us". We can be confident, even in our trials, that God has something wonderful planned for us. Our trials are only temporary, but the glory will last forever!