Sometimes it is hard for us to accept the hardships of this life. Certainly, in the current situation, with so many people in so many communities and countries still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is much worry and anxiety. Yet, worry and struggle have been a part of the human condition almost as long as human beings have been on the earth.

As Paul wrote this second letter to the church in Corinth, he was reminding the people that he, too had struggled: “in beatings, imprisonments, and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger” (2 Corinthians 6:5). His life, as follower of Jesus and as evangelist had been difficult, more difficult in some ways than our Christian lives have been. We, in the United States at least, are rarely beaten or imprisoned for our faith. We may have ha…