Take time to read, slowly and carefully, through 2 Corinthians 11-13. List the hardships the Apostle Paul endured.

Try putting yourself and your own particular circumstances and trials into Paul's constant affirmations of faith.

Start with...

• I have been in labour and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure
• Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches...
• If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness
• The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying...

Can you do that...honestly?  

Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll, Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.