Does suffering and affliction come from God?

An oft asked question which Ravi Zachrias answered beautifully in many many ways during his visit here in Cochin...Here's what I understood..
1) If you can accept blessings and gifts from God, how can you turn up your nose at all that comes from Him?
2) Suffering, affliction, perfection, and strength these are all parts of God's ultimate purpose for us. Satan—despite his incredibly cunning intelligence, cleverness, and power—is still only a puppet in God's hand to bring about His purpose. We see this clearly in the Book of Job. God is far more powerful than Satan. Though Satan boasts about His power on us (and that too because we let him!), God's power and might is far greater over Satan.