How to survive anything

An “Interview” with the Apostle Paul

By Abi F. May

“I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39 NIV). That is one of the most outstanding proclamations of faith ever made, and it was made by a man who endured years of troubles and tribulations that most of us, thank God, will never have to go through, the apostle Paul.

Neither death nor life ... nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God.

His story is told in the Bible’s book of Acts. Church history and his letters to congregations of early Christians fill in some gaps. What is clear is that Paul, in his zeal to share the good news about Jesus, met opposition on countless occasions. He was beaten, imprisoned, stoned, shipwrecked, persecuted, and destitute.1 Where did he get the strength to not only carry on, but to come through those trials even more appreciative of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice and more resolute in his faith? If we could interview Paul today, perhaps it would go something like this:

Interviewer: You certainly had a remarkable turnaround following your salvation experience—from attacking the budding Christian faith following Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, to playing a large part in spreading that faith and strengthening its early followers. But you also ran into a lot of opposition yourself. What happened?

Paul: One incident around 52 ad was typical. I had fled from enemies in what is now Turkey, sailing across the Aegean Sea to Athens, Greece, and journeyed down to Corinth, an important trade center.

I started preaching in the local synagogue, and things went okay at the beginning. Even the leader of the synagogue, Crispus, became a Christian. But another man, Sosthenes, began spreading rumors, and soon I was expelled from the synagogue—Crispus too. So I took my message to the Greeks of that city, and a large number received Jesus. This made Sosthenes and his cohorts even more furious. They kept spreading lies, and I kept on preaching and teaching.

After about a year and a half, Sosthenes got a mob together and came after me. They would have stoned me on the spot, but they were afraid of the Roman authorities. So they marched me down to the palace of the Roman proconsul, who, at that time, was Junius Annaeus Gallio, the elder brother of Seneca, the famous Roman philosopher, and they accused me to him. But when Gallio realized this was simply a religious controversy, he refused to listen any more. I was set free, and the mob turned on Sosthenes.2

On that occasion you got off relatively easy. Was that generally the case?

No, it wasn’t. I was beaten a number of times, which resulted in some permanent injuries. I was whipped and stoned, as well, and was imprisoned on several occasions.

You also encountered perils on some of your travels. Surely that must have been discouraging.

An understatement! I was shipwrecked three times, and only by God’s intervention did I live to tell the tale. Many times I was so discouraged that I felt like giving up, but I knew I had to keep going because Jesus had called me to spread the Gospel far and wide. I knew that if I quit, I would be failing God. Also, others looked up to me, so if I had failed, I could have caused them to fail. So I carried on, even when I was discouraged and felt defeated. The troubles didn’t always end when I wished they would, but Jesus was always there for me.3

It sounds as though you lived quite a stressful life.

I was blessed with a long and fruitful life, but it was under almost continual pressure. In addition to the challenges we’ve already discussed, I felt compelled to share the love of God in Jesus with the whole world.4 That was good pressure, of course, but pressure nonetheless. But regardless of where the pressure came from, I knew I didn’t have to manage it alone. Jesus always gave me the grace and strength I needed to go on.5 I never could have endured what I did on my own. I had to rely on Jesus.

Do you think it is inevitable that believers must suffer for their faith?

Jesus didn’t call us to a life of ease, but to a life of service to others, and service always involves some personal sacrifice. In addition, anyone who tries to live a truly godly life for Jesus is going to run into opposition.6 Jesus said so. “If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.”7 And history has proven Him right. But it’s not all pain and suffering, either. There are more than enough rewards in this life, as well as in the life to come, to put the troubles in perspective.8

Do you have a final thought for us?

No matter what you face in life, trust Jesus to bring you through! He’s always there, and He won’t allow you to be tempted beyond what He knows you can take. He always makes a way to escape—not necessarily an escape from troubles, but through them.9 Hold on to Him, and He will hold on to you! •

References: 12 Corinthians 11:23–27, 2Acts chapter 18,

3Acts 18:9–10; Hebrews 13:5, 41 Corinthians 9:16,

52 Corinthians 4:8–9; 12:9–10, 62 Timothy 3:12,

7John 15:20, 8Romans 8:17–18; 14:17; Philippians 4:11–12; 1 Peter 1:6–8, 91 Corinthians 10:13.