Thanks for visiting my site and leaving your question in the guestbook. Many people have been trying to find answers to your question for a long time. The Bible book of Job tells us that Job was a righteous man and he certainly suffered. He didn't know why, but we know that God allowed Satan to test Job's loyalty to God–yet didn't allow Satan to take Job's life. How many people through the centuries have learned because of Job's response to it all?

I would recommend what Charles Stanley says about suffering. His "In Touch" devotional a couple of months ago (March or April) dealt with your question for a month. I remember the thing I learned is that God allows us to go through suffering. In the suffering we learn that He is there with us, and we learn to trust Him. The outcome is that we grow and become much stronger.

(For current In Touch)

I also believe that God tests us. When, in heaven, we are rewarded, He can point to how we reacted to suffering and how we withstood it. This demonstrates, without question, how worthy we are of His eternal rewards.

We can easily think we'd rather go without the suffering, or the reward. But the best reward we have here is learning how near God is to us, and how He loves us and helps us in every circumstance. I look back on hard, puzzling things in my own life, and begin to see how God led me and my family. His strenght and grace is what kept me in a lot of suffering. Intimacy with God is one of the things in life that is most precious to me. That intimacy develops strongly in times of struggle and dependency. Although events have happened that I would never have wished to happen, I'd not give up what I've learned of God, if that were the trade-off to avoid the unpleasant, even heart-breaking, circumstances (multiple sclerosis since I was in my twenties, events leading to divorce, etc.)

I agree with David when he wrote in Psalm 62:11 "One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong and that you, O Lord, are loving."

Here is a book by Charles Stanley. I found it at http://www.worship.com/books/advancing.htm

The Blessings of Brokenness : Why God Allows Us to Go Through Hard Times Stanley, Charles If your life is crumbling to pieces, you probably don't feel much like you're being blessed. Yet best-selling author Stanley believes that Jesus can use this "breaking time" to help you grow spiritually and learn to comfort others in the real world of suffering. By losing control of your life, you may actually gain something far greater--intimacy with Jesus himself. 128 pages, hardcover from Zondervan.
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The song below came to mind as I was thinking about your very valid question:

Copied from http://tch.simplenet.com/htm/w/whatgodh.htm

WHAT GOD HATH PROMISED

“This is what He has promised us…eternal life.” 1 John 2:25

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Words: Annie Johnson Flint, 1919.

Music: William Marion Runyan, 1919

God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

Refrain

But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.

Refrain

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep.

Refrain
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I hope something here points you to the goodness of God in all things. He does always hear, and always knows all about us and our circumstances. He also promises that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purposes.
May God bless you.
Sincerely,
Nancy Spiegelberg
http://www.godthoughts.com