…in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
2 Corinthians 11:27
Paul defended his ministry against false teachers all the time. He does so again in this letter to the Corinthian church. His profound dedication to the gospel brought an impressive résumé of suffering and a list of grand adventures:
- Ministry and great labor
- Multiple imprisonments
- Beaten many times, left for dead (2 Corinthians 11:23)
- Five times lashed with 39 whip lashes (2 Corinthians 11:24)
- Three times beaten by rods
- Stoned and left for dead
- Shipwrecked three times
- A day and a half adrift on wreckage (2 Corinthians 11:25)
- Journey dangers
- - river crossing
- - robbers
- - Jewish threats on his life
- - Gentile threats on his life
- - city risks
- - wilderness risks
- - seafaring risks
- - heretic risks (2 Corinthians 11:26)
- Toiling work with hardship
- Sleepless nights
- Hunger and thirst
- Food shortages
- Bad weather
- Cold and exposure (2 Corinthians 11:27)
That’s a list of twenty-three ways Paul experienced life-threatening risks just to bring the gospel to others. This is an epic adventure. This is where faith will take those dedicated to delivering it.
Serving Jesus is a risk and an adventure. It is all worth the suffering. You wear yourself out, push your mind and body to the limit to stand on the mountaintop and see the view of things most people will not dare to work hard to see! That is what faith, dedication, and disciplined obedience can get you. If this is true in all of life’s best adventures, how much greater is it to experience these things while serving Jesus where the panoramic view lasts for eternity!
Lord,
Let the adventures continue! Even if it is hard, You are so very worth it! Fill my story with the rewards AND the risks. Danger is the thrill of faith. I will follow You on this journey. You make it epic!
Amen
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