Overview and Objectives

Suffering often occurs at the hand of others. But it has a way of revealing what is in our hearts. Capacities for love, mercy, anger, envy, and pride can lie dormant until awakened by circumstances. Strength or weakness of heart is found not when everything is going our way but when flames of suffering and temptation test the mettle of our character. As gold and silver are refined by fire, and as coal needs some time and pressure to become a diamond, the human heart is revealed and developed by enduring the pressure and heat of time and circumstances. Strength of character is shown not when all is well with our world but in the presence of human pain and suffering.

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

• Explain why strength of character is shown in the presence of human pain and suffering.
• Explain how God uses suffering to unmask our hearts.
• Explain how faith enters into and affects the experience of suffering.

As you proceed through this lesson have the following question in mind.
In response to the illustration of the cup of hot chocolate being bumped, spilling its true contents, how much bumping is required to reveal your true heart?