I am so comforted by the promise that every single hardship, trial, or time of suffering I've ever gone through will be put to good use by God. Because God knows the end from the beginning, He already knows what life is going to throw at you. God knows His plans and purposes for you and He knows that the outcome of your life, when lived in belief upon His Son, Jesus, will be to experience glorious eternal life with Him. God is preparing you and me, not only for this life, but for the next life.
Believers in Jesus will be ruling and reigning with Jesus for the Millennial period (a period of 1,000 years that will commence after Jesus returns to earth to conquer evil). We will have assignments and roles in the Kingdom of God as the Scriptures reveal.
Revelation 20: 6 says, "Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years."
2 Timothy 2:10-13 says, "For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. It is a trustworthy statement:
For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself."
When we take a look at King David and see how God brought him through a variety of stages of training before he became the King of Israel, we see how God used every attack on David, every hardship, and every bit of suffering he went through to make him into the most beloved King of Israel. David started out as a shepherd, leading only sheep but protecting them against wolves, bears and other wild beasts. He eventually "graduated" to be a warrior and commander of King Saul's army. King Saul turned against David and was trying to kill him. David grew and grew, in his faith in God, in his strength, and in his skills through every single hardship.
Even though you and I may never become an earthly leader of thousands of people, God is making us into royal servants in the Kingdom of God. Your hardships, setbacks, and sufferings have a place in His plan, and He's using them to train you for what lies ahead.
Speaking of difficulties, I have been really struggling with severe allergies and asthma this spring. I am not thrilled about these awful symptoms that keep me awake coughing, wheezing, and blowing my nose, but I know God is using even this to fine tune my character and build my faith and knowledge of God's true nature as revealed in God's Word.
Michah 7:18-19 reminds us of God's goodness, "Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."