PAUL GOT BEAT, STONED, SHIPWRECKED, JAILED—AND CHRISTIANS STILL CALL IT “TOO HARD”
If you want a clean, comfortable Barbie Christianity that never costs you anything, the Apostle Paul is your enemy. It's not that he was harsh, but rather that his life reveals our vulnerability. Paul didn’t just “have a hard season.” His entire ministry reads like a war log—pain stacked on pain—and he kept going anyway. Paul’s story is not the inspirational poster version most people want. It’s the version God actually used. Before Paul ever preached freely, he met Jesus in a way that shattered his identity and humbled his pride. And from that moment forward, suffering wasn’t an interruption to his calling—it was stitched into it. Paul got opposed everywhere he went. He was chased out of cities. He was publicly humiliated. He was attacked for speaking the name of Christ. He was beaten with rods. He was whipped. He was stoned and left for dead. He spent nights exposed, hungry, exhausted, and threatened. He was betrayed by false believers and targeted by religious crowds. He lived w...