Can I Know God's Will? by R. C. Sproul

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One of the great tragedies of contemporary Christendom is the preoccupation of so many Christians with the secret decretive will of God to the exclusion and neglect of the preceptive will. We want to peek behind the veil, to catch a glimpse of our personal future. We seem more concerned with our horoscope than with our obedience, more concerned with what the stars in their courses are doing than with what we are doing.

A Taste of Heaven: Worship in the Light of Eternity by R. C. Sproul

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I hear complaints from people in the church who ask, "How can God allow Christians to suffer the way they do?" I hear preachers say, "We're not supposed to suffer as Christians." When I hear that, I want to say, "You are a false prophet." Not only are we allowed to suffer, it's our vocation as Christians. Our Savior was a suffering Savior, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, who endured manifold afflictions. The New Testament tells us many times to be prepared for the same thing. We suffer, if need be, for a season. Peter says, "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you" (1 Peter 4:12). The thing that is strange is when we enjoy relative freedom from afflictions in this world. The time when afflictions are over will come when we pass the veil.

A Taste of Heaven: Worship in the Light of Eternity by R. C. Sproul

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When we're suffering in our warfare with pagan forces that are against us, it's somewhat easier to bear because we know we're bearing it for the gospel's sake. But when we awaken with excruciating pain and are rushed to the emergency room, how does that relate to the kingdom of God? Let's look at it this way. What's the difference whether I'm assaulted by human beings' animosity to the things of God or whether I'm afflicted by the forces of sin and darkness through bodily disease? Disease is part of the fallen world. It's part of the kingdom of this world. To bear that affliction is to give the same testimony to the redemption that is ours in Christ as if we were bearing the affliction of the persecutions of the Emperor Nero. Our spiritual response to disease should be no different from our spiritual response to persecution.