One of the most important lessons we can teach our children and teens as they grow up in today’s post-Christian culture is a theology of what it means to suffer well. I’ve been reading insights on suffering from the Open Doors ministry to the global persecuted church. This week, I want to share Open Doors’ five ways that God uses problems and persecution in our lives. These are lessons we must share with our kids. First, we must teach them that God uses problems and persecution to direct us. Proverbs 20:30 says, “Blows that wound cleanse away evil. Strokes make clean the innermost parts.” Members of the global persecuted church have learned that sometimes God must light a fire under us to get us moving in His direction. We must teach our kids that problems and pressures often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Our kids need to learn that the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ is a difficult life. We need to teach and prepare our kids to suffer well.