Our God is a God of the living. In God, there is no death. While life certainly presents hardships and has its measure of suffering, God does not promise anyone, not even his own Son, a way around it. What He does promise is His abiding, all-sustaining presence as a source of courage and hope so that we can more gracefully and purposefully endure it. Our faith in the Gospel message of Jesus Christ reminds us to carry the hope of resurrection with us in all things. We must never lose sight of the fact that we are works in progress and that what we see and experience here is only the beginning of greater marvels to come. This is why people like St. Paul and others of great faith consider their sufferings as nothing compared to the glory yet to be revealed.