There is a stark contrast between the two most common theological reactions to suffering. The first is fear. Suffering is a terrible thing, admittedly so, and it causes many to doubt the power, love, or even existence of God. On the other hand, faith drives the Christian to rely on God all the more.
The first response is a very narrow-minded one. It focuses only on the smaller picture in the present time. Compare this with faith. Faith looks at the bigger picture, not only taking all the available factors into account, but also being content with the unseen.
The thing about faith is that it remembers God's actions in the past, summons His help in the present, and extrapolates these two things into the future. God fulfilled His promises in the past, and so we assume He will continue to do so in the future. Furthermore, whereas fear demands immediate answers to every question, faith is content with not always having them. Sometimes, a child must sit in the back seat and trust the driver.
Of course, there is one element of suffering that is widely known, yet just as widely ignored. We as a species act as if God is not there, but what we don't acknowledge is that, in a sense, we don't really want Him here. From the very first sin that brought death into our world, God has been "distant" from us. Not in the sense that He has abandoned us, either in whole or in part, but in the sense that many of His benefits have been withdrawn. In fact, even Moses, who had extremely close contact with God, was forbidden from seeing His full glory. When Moses requested that God show him His glory, God basically said "no, you'll die" (Exodus 33:20). As that verse says, no man shall look upon God's face and live. This is because evil cannot dwell with God (Psalm 5:4). God and evil are as opposed as fire and wood.
Because we are sinners, we are separated from God. This world, being stained with sin, suffers from its effects every day. This makes it truly amazing that the Son of God actually laid aside His glory in order to dwell among men, a companion of sinners, in order to use the very suffering we complain about to fix the broken bond.
As we look forward to Heaven, we notice the earthly order of things is eliminated. There is no death. There is no suffering. There is no sickness, no lack, no sin. And there is no gap between God and man. The amazing thing is, God actually tells us through the prophet Isaiah that the things of this world won't even come to mind (Isaiah 65:17). The suffering that seems so devastating today will seem trivial on the other side. It will be like the silly cuts and bruises you got as a kid.
Personally, I was a real crybaby as a kid. I have a very low threshold for pain. If I lost so much as a drop of blood, I would cry as if I'd lost an arm. Yet, today, I struggle to remember even a single example. I have thought of two. Once, while on a trampoline, some bigger boys got on with me, and bounced so hard, I fell and sprained my leg. I remember this only because my mother kept the cast in my Granddad's house, and I saw it when we went to sort some things out shortly after his death. The second example, I was about 10 years old, and one of my fellow students jammed my finger in a door so hard, my nail actually fell off. At the time, I was in so much pain, I couldn't even hear the adults trying to help me. Today, I can't even remember which hand was jammed. There are no visible marks remaining. Heaven will be so much greater than the earth that even this is a weak analogy.
The irony is, unbelievers who take the fear route often have not suffered the things they rail against God for, whereas those who take the faith route often have. Of course, that's not to say believers suffer more than anyone else. In this world, no one is safe from anything. But look how many atheists ask how God could allow the Holocaust to happen, vs. how many Holocaust survivors, and even victims, praise/d God with everything they have/had, knowing that one day, He will bring justice. Most people who use child rape were not raped as a child, yet child rape survivors can be so joyful in the Lord, the only way you'd know they had that experience is if they tell you. I could go on, but safe to say, the fact that two people can have nigh identical experiences, yet have opposite approaches, proves that it is a matter of the heart, not of logic.
Suffering is an admittedly bad thing that the Lord takes no pleasure in. However, in His infinite wisdom, it is a thing that He permits to happen, and even uses for His glory. This is a thing that the narrow minded will never understand, mainly because they have no desire to. But when the mind is opened, we see that the suffering of this life serves its purpose, and when that purpose has been completely fulfilled, it will be ended once for all for the faithful.
How do you claim that promise? The answer is surprisingly simple. See, Christ Himself suffered on your behalf. Ultimately, the sufferings of the earth are trivial compared to the wrath God owes us for our sins. However, God is not willing that we should perish. Rather, He wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. To that end, He sent Jesus to be crucified, receiving the punishment we deserve. Thus, we can repent of the sin that brought such suffering, receiving instead eternal life by confessing Him as Lord, and believing He rose from the dead. This will not end suffering in this life, but it promises to make the suffering of this life well worth it.