Most believers realize that the Apostle Paul was a Christian lion. He was one of the strongest and bravest men of God to ever serve King Jesus. In comparison with Paul, and those like him, I am an absolute zero! Having said that, 1 and 2 Corinthians include many, many, many humble expressions of weakness, sadness, and various admissions of pastoral discouragement. In that vein, do passages of inspired Scripture like 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; 2:4; 7:6 11:28-30; 12:7-10 make the great apostle Paul any less of a faithful Christian role model? Do these honest confessions make you less inclined to listen to him?
If the great Apostle Paul had "low lows" in Christian ministry should we expect lesser men to go through life valleys without grief, sadness, and their own seasons of discouragement? As a Christian who greatly looks up to this eminent Apostle (per 1 Corinthians 11:1) I am most grateful for Paul's humble admissions of weakness throughout his many letters. Paul was a man of great faith but he was also a man of clay. Just like you and I, the Apostle Paul battled through life (Romans 7) and struggled in the ministry trenches (1 & 2 Corinthians, 2 Timothy). Yet he is clearly one of the great heroes of the faith!
Lest you assume I am making too much out of one isolated example let me provide you with two more biblical examples. I) The Psalms are universally loved by all of God's people, in part, because they are so raw and honest. Many of the Psalms express despair, hurt, fear, betrayal, and lament all in the context of WORSHIP. Are we greater soldiers of the LORD than David the giant killer?
II) Moses was another giant of the faith. Yet even Moses had his "fainting fits" while seeking to lead the children of Israel to Canaan. Constant criticism, complaining, and internal opposition almost drove Moses to suicide. Are we more courageous leaders than Moses the deliverer?
When I read through the Word of God or consider Spurgeon's Lectures to My Students I am greatly encouraged and I pray the same experience is true for you faithful Christian pilgrim. Be not surprised then when Charles Spurgeon states that all godly ministers will go through dark valleys of various kinds which invariably lead to various "fainting fits" (spiritual discouragement, physical ailments, etc).
Fight the good fight. Finish the course. Keep the faith!
Psalm 56:8-11
You have taken account of my wanderings;
Put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in Your book?
Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call;
This I know that God is for me.
In God whose Word I praise,
In the LORD, whose word I praise.
In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid.
In God, I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can mere man do to me?
