As long as you have bad habits do not reject hardship, so that through it you may be humbled and eject your pride. Sometimes men are tested by pleasure, sometime by distress or by physical suffering. But means of His prescriptions the Physician of souls administers the remedy according to the cause of the passions lying hidden in the soul. (Maximos the Confessor)

Tough times can be very good for character-building, cultivating wisdom, and soul-making. God is ready to help with all this and more.

Surely pleasure can test and try us as much as distress. Every encounter with another - good or ill - is an opportunity to make and find meaning.

God is a great physician. I have found God's remedies remarkable. I depend on God's concern and care.

With God's help I can discern and give direction to the passions lying hidden in my soul. In every case I have found these passions to be God's gift.

We are not called is dispassion but passion for God's purposes, wherein we will find our soul's fulfillment.