“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” II Corinthians 12:9 The loss of what is old is an opportunity to discover something new.  God may use hardship to get us to give up a bad habit or learn a new virtue.  He used a thorn in Paul’s flesh to teach him about grace.  Instead of striving to preserve old habits that are no longer effective, we can view every hardship as an opportunity for God to cultivate a new virtue in us.  God often uses bitter experiences to make us better.