This is not a matter of how much we suffer, but to what extent we can endure suffering. Suffering is not a necessity, but a mind to suffer is. The Lord's intention is not to keep us in sufferings but to wrought such a mind into us. No brother or sister learning to serve the Lord will be strong if he or she does not have a mind to suffer. If we do not have a mind to suffer, we will be the weakest of all men. As soon as we touch any difficulty, we will give way to self-pity. We will weep for ourselves and sigh, "How did I become this way?" On a certain occasion a sister, who had been serving the Lord for years, came upon another sister shedding tears, and she asked her, "Who are you shedding your tears for?" Many people shed tears for themselves. They consider themselves dear and precious, and they feel sorry for their own fall. Their tears are shed for themselves. Such ones are the weakest of all men; they collapse as soon as they encounter challenges.

The important question when trials and pains come is where our heart is. On the one hand, there is the issue of our pain. On the other hand, there is the issue of the Lord's work. If we do not have a mind to suffer, we will immediately sacrifice the Lord's work. We will be too busy feeling sorry for ourselves and loving ourselves, and there will be no more energy to take care of the Lord's work! Brothers and sisters, we have to learn to have a mind to suffer. It is true that our suffering may go away if we abandon our work, but then the work will suffer a loss. If a mind to suffer is absent or lacking, Satan can force us to abandon and sacrifice our work at any time. We must remember before the Lord that we are here to uphold God's glory. God can order life or death for us, but on our part we have to be faithful to our responsibility. We cannot forsake our work. We must persist to the end. It is not our desire to see our brothers and sisters go through sufferings. If at all possible, it is good for them to take care of their daily needs in moderation. We are not asking them to go out of their way to look for sufferings. We do not impose sufferings on others. Our hope is that God would supply all of our needs. But we must realize that a mind to suffer is very necessary. On the one hand, we must believe that God has not withheld one good thing from us. On the other hand, we must have a mind to suffer. If we do not, we will collapse as soon as we encounter difficulty or setbacks in our lives.