Emphasis Preaching Journal

In this life there is much suffering. One does not have to look very far to see someone who carries a heavy burden of pain and infirmities. Without hope of relief, the long days of suffering would be intolerable. Paul suffered an affliction and several times engaged in prayer, asking God to remove his source of irritation. But the answer always was to the effect that God's grace would be sufficient to help him handle his problem. So Paul learned to look beyond the present, to look ahead to future life where he would be freed of bodily pain.