I’ve always loved Acts 5:41:
The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
Suffering for the faith, then, is a privilege. A reward for faithfulness in the midst of persecution.
Frankly, most of the “suffering” that North American pastors and Christians endure is at the hands of other Christians.
It’s also the kind of suffering we dish out.
Perhaps if we spent more time in the world and less time in our Christian cocoons, we’d have more opportunities for redemptive suffering.