Note 2 at 1 Cor. 4:11: At this time, Paul had been ministering the gospel full time for over 10 years. Yet, there were times that he still was hungry, thirsty, without sufficient clothing and he didn't have a permanent residence. This is not because God willed for Paul to be poor.

Much of Paul's adversity in these areas was because he was a pioneer, going where no one had ever shared the gospel before (Rom. 15:20). There were special hardships associated with that type of ministry then just as there are today.

Also, Paul had voluntarily refused to receive money from the Corinthian church (1 Cor. 9:12-18). This meant that there was less support for his ministry, but it was his choice. So, much of Paul's adversity was caused by a unique situation.

However, anyone who depends on free-will gifts from others is going to have fluctuations in their income. This can be minimized but it cannot be controlled without controlling people, which is not God's will. So, hardships exists, especially for ministers, but it is important that we don't interpret this as God's perfect will.

In the same way that soldiers in war experience hardships, so ministers who are in battle with Satan suffer at times. But it would be wrong to say that is what God wills, just as it would be wrong to say that a soldier's commander wanted him to be hungry, cold, or whatever. The closer you get to the battle, the worst the hardships. But it's not our commander-in-chief that's causing the problems. It's the enemy.

When adversity comes, we need to be like Paul and be content in whatsoever state we find ourselves (Phil. 4:11). However, we don't need to look for hardship and believe for trouble because of wrong teaching about how God takes care of His own.