We Christians need the pressures and trials of life, if we are to develop into all that God has saved us to be. In our text, Paul tells us why he was able to soar above the heads of most other believers in his day. He tells us that it was the pain and the sufferings he endured that gave him the power with God enjoyed.As we look into this passage, I want to talk to you about the buffetings Paul mentions. You see, what this man endured can teach us a lot about the problems, suffering and trials of our own lives. What we can learn here will give us the ability to rise above the ordinary Christian life. Just like that butterfly, we will find that the trials and the sufferings of life will refine and prepare us to take flight for the glory of God.