Welcome back to another week on the Ask Pastor John podcast. In our Bible reading this week

we're in the thick of it reading through Leviticus a notorious book that ends a lot of well-intended Bible readers

in the month of February, and a book that includes a hard text like Leviticus 21 versus

16 to 24, forcing Bible readers to ask the question, why did God shun the disabled in the Old Testament?

We looked at that question last time on Thursday.

Today we talk about personal suffering and the meaningfulness, the

meaningfulness of Christian suffering. So often suffering feels

meaning less and we can get disheartened and feel like giving up

leading to today's question from Samuel. Hello Pastor John the Apostle Paul

says in 2nd Corinthians 4 verses 7-9 that he was afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not

driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken. What does he mean that he was persecuted but not forsaken when I imagine the

sufferings of Paul hitting my life? I would be immediately tempted to think that

such harsh persecution would make me feel completely crushed and abandoned by God.

Much lesser pain in my life brings me to the brink of this already.

So how did Paul endure such pain without feeling totally defeated?

And what his faith looked like in your life,

when your life was at its hardest?

So here's the text that we're being asked to get inside of.

2 Corinthians 4, 7 to 9.

We have this treasure, namely this treasure of vital faith in Christ who is the image of God.

We have this treasure in jars of clay that is fragile bodies and minds

to show that the surpassing power belongs to God

...