Temporary Suffering Part 1: Is it God's will for Christians to suffer? I recently posed this question to our congregation. The response could not have been more diverse, ranging from " absolutely ," to " absolutely not! " Here's the thing: everyone undergoes suffering in some form at some point of time. Consequently everyone has an opinion about it, seeing as we're all experts in our own rights. But what does the Bible say? If we take seriously Jesus' words in the Gospels it becomes abundantly clear that being His follower comes with various hardships. His teaching about suffering as a disciple culminates in everyone's least favourite promise in the Bible where He states, " In this world you will have trouble... " (John 16:33) But perhaps that's still somewhat open to interpretation? And what about God's will regarding such matters as suffering and hardship? Let's look at passages out of the letters of