You have been called for this purpose.

1 Peter 2:21-24 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

There are those in other parts of the world living in the truth that suffering has always been a part of the good news of Jesus Christ. He suffered once on the cross that we might be set free from the power of sin and death; yet even Paul proclaimed that he wanted to know Christ more deeply, to share in His sufferings and to be conformed to His death. That’s not a popular idea in our culture, especially in many churches, but it is clear in scripture. And there are those in other countries praying that persecution might come to our own culture, for that is when the good news of Jesus Christ really explodes as it did in the first century!

You are the good shepherd, and we trust You, Lord, that all things work together for good for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose.