Discouraged?

Christian, are you feeling weary in well-doing?  Peterson's take on St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians. 

 It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We’re something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We’re the Messiah’s misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we’re mostly kicked around. Much of the time we don’t have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, “God bless you.” When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We’re treated like garbage, potato peelings from the culture’s kitchen. And it’s not getting any better.  --The Message  (I Cor. 4:9-13) 

Yet rejection, beatings, stoning, shipwreck, and incarceration did not deter Paul from the mission.  He persevered to the end, faithful to his calling.  Be like Paul