Yes — even God's most devoted servant Paul suffered greatly, so Scripture does not promise good people an easy life.
In Acts 9, the Lord told Ananias that Paul was a chosen vessel who would bear His name before Gentiles, kings, and Israel — and that he would be shown how much he must suffer for that name. Paul later described beatings, stoning, shipwrecks, and constant perils in 2 Corinthians 11. Les Feldick points out that Paul was perplexed and persecuted but never forsaken, and that suffering did not mean his work was failing.
Acts 9:15-16 — God chose Paul as a vessel for His name and immediately said Paul would suffer for that name.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 — Paul describes being troubled, perplexed, and persecuted, yet not forsaken.
Scripture shows that suffering is part of even the most faithful believer's life. In Acts 9:15-16, the Lord identified Saul of Tarsus as a chosen vessel to bear His name before the Gentiles, kings, and Israel, and then immediately added, 'I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.' Paul's own writings confirm that this was not a theoretical point. He said he was 'troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken' (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). Later he listed the concrete hardships of his ministry — beatings, stoning, shipwreck, and countless perils — as part of his apostolic service (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). Scripture never pretends that bad things do not happen to God's people; instead, it promises His presence in the midst of them.
Les Feldick uses Paul as the clearest example that bad things happen to good people. He notes that Paul, years after his conversion, still had to defend his apostleship because the Judaizers attacked him as an 'upstart' who had not walked with Jesus like Peter did. Paul answered by rehearsing how much he had suffered so the Gentiles could get the message of grace (Clip 0). Les also observes that Paul himself felt perplexed and was driven from city to city, but he never gave up because he knew God had His own purposes. God had earlier promised Paul that He had people in Corinth, so Paul did not need to run from enemies (Clip 1). Paul's past persecution of believers also weighed on him — he had punished and compelled them to blaspheme — yet after grace he became the one suffering for the same gospel (Clips 4 and 7). Finally, Les stresses that Paul's suffering continued to the end: the Judaizers never stopped harassing his converts, the pagan Romans came down on Christianity, and Paul ended his life as a martyr (Clip 6).
God's purpose in Paul's suffering was not punishment. In Acts 9, God told Ananias that Paul was a chosen vessel and that he would suffer for His name's sake (Clip 2). Les says Paul's suffering was directly tied to getting the gospel to the Gentiles, and the Judaizers constantly challenged his authority so he had to defend his apostleship by pointing to his suffering (Clip 0). Paul's hardships — beatings, stoning, shipwrecks, perils on every side — were all endured 'for the sake of the gospel' (Clip 5).
Les acknowledges that Paul was perplexed, just as believers today sometimes ask 'God, why?' Yet Paul did not quit; he kept preaching because he knew God had His own purposes. The Lord had already told Paul not to run from enemies, promising that He had many people in Corinth (Clip 1). And even though Paul was persecuted and driven from city to city, he was not forsaken.
Before conversion, Saul persecuted the assembly at Jerusalem, consented to Stephen's death, and tried to carry the persecution all the way to Damascus (Acts 8:1, Acts 26:11). Les says Paul never fully got over the guilt of having persecuted believers (Clips 3 and 4). But after grace, the persecutor became the persecuted — he suffered for the same name he had once hated.
No. Les points to 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 where Paul wrote that even when he was troubled, perplexed, persecuted, and cast down, he was not distressed, not in despair, not forsaken, and not destroyed (Clip 1). Paul was absent from the body and present with the Lord only in the sense of living by faith, and his confidence remained even while his apostolic work brought years of suffering (Clip 6).
Bad things can happen to good people because the Christian life is not promised to be easy or free from suffering. It is described as a continual struggle against Satan’s forces and against the world itself, more like paddling a canoe upstream than traveling on a pleasant, rose-covered path. Anyone who promises that becoming a Christian will make everything “turn up roses” is presenting false teaching. God may allow trials, persecutions, testing, and discouragement so that He can demonstrate that He is sufficient. The hardships believers endure do not mean that God has abandoned them. Rather, God is portrayed as the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, continually encouraging His people in their tribulations. This encouragement has a further purpose: those who have received God’s comfort during their own troubles can encourage others who are in trouble. Suffering can therefore equip believers to help and strengthen fellow believers through the encouragement God has given them. The Christian life includes real opposition and difficulty, but it also carries the promise that the Lord God Himself will provide encouragement through those testing times.
Paul Defends His Apostleship
Les shows that Paul's constant suffering was part of defending his apostleship to the Gentiles and answering the Judaizers' attacks.
Perplexed but Not Forgetting God's Purpose
Les uses Paul's perplexity to show that even good people ask 'Why?' yet continue by faith.
Suffering Promised at Conversion
Les connects Paul's lifelong suffering directly to God's promise that he would suffer for the name of Christ.
Paul's Remorse Over Persecuting Believers
Les explains Paul's remorse over his former persecution of believers, showing that even a forgiven apostle carried the memory of his past.
The Persecutor Becomes the Persecuted
Les contrasts the persecutor Saul with the suffering apostle Paul, showing why Paul understood both sides of suffering.
Paul's List of Hardships
Les rehearses Paul's specific inhuman sufferings to show that faithful ministry does not exempt a person from hardship.
Suffering Until Death
Les shows that Paul's suffering continued until the end of his life, and that he still had confidence in being present with the Lord.
Saul's Former Persecution
Les shows the depths of Paul's former life as a persecutor, making his later suffering for the gospel all the more striking.
Acts 9:15-16: But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
God chose Paul and immediately foretold that he would suffer for Christ's name.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9: We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
Paul describes suffering that does not end in despair or abandonment.
2 Corinthians 11:23-27: Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
Paul catalogues the physical hardships he endured as an apostle.
Acts 26:11: And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.
Paul confesses his former persecution of believers before his conversion.
2 Corinthians 5:8: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Even while suffering, Paul remained confident of being present with the Lord after death.
The Bible does not promise believers a pain-free life. Paul, God's chosen vessel to the Gentiles, was told he would suffer for Christ's name (Acts 9:16). Les Feldick shows that Paul experienced perplexity, persecution, beatings, and shipwreck, yet he never gave up because he trusted God's purposes.
Yes. Les points out that Paul was perplexed and sometimes prone to ask 'God, why?' But he didn't quit. He kept going because he knew God had His own purposes and had even promised him safety in Corinth.
Paul's ministry shows that suffering can be part of faithful service. He listed beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, and perils as things he endured for the gospel's sake, and Les notes that even a chosen apostle was not exempt.
Watch the Teaching: Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen? — 2 Corinthians 1 Explained