God never promises to deliver us from suffering. In fact, the Bible is clear that we will suffer in this life. The book of Revelation calls this the great tribulation. Through the last two thousand years, the church has suffered and been persecuted, but Revelation 7 shows the end of this tribulation in two stunning visions of the church. As John sees the vision of the 144,000 and the great multitude, one of the elders explains to him that they are the ones who have been sealed by God, protected from his wrath by his presence. This is the promise for every believer; not that God will take our suffering away, but that he will be with us through it. God is so committed to keeping this promise that he shed his own blood. As Christians, we can trust that God has sealed us with his Spirit, that he will be with us, and that he will bring us safely to himself in the end.