The PURPOSE of Suffering

When we are suffering, it's tempting to think that it is a random event that caught God unawares, and we now cry out for Him to intervene. But is our suffering a surprise to God? Is our suffering random and meaningless? As we look at the life of Job, we discover that he was never told the purpose of his suffering, but just because he wasn't told the purpose, it didn't mean there wasn't one!