You can suffer without maturing, but you cannot mature without suffering. 
I believe God brings suffering to our lives in order to mature us. But suffering does not mature everyone. Some people will grow bitter and walk away from the Lord. However, those who remain in God, the suffering makes them more tender, compassionate, and humble. 
We see what suffering did to Jacob. As a young man, he was brash, cunning, and selfish. But suffering visits him in the form of being conned, family strife, a harsh boss, and long hours at work. 20 years of this made him a man fit to be the father of a nation – Israel. 
When he is faced with the same circumstance as 20 years ago, whereas he treated his older brother like a dirty rag before, he calls him, “lord, and treats him like one. 
If you are called by God to be His child, He will work on you by bringing suffering on you. Do you believe this?
PH