Note 17 at 2 Cor. 11:27: Of all the afflictions Paul has listed here, there is a noticeable absence of things like sickness and poverty. This is very different to the way some people today include sickness and poverty as a godly type of suffering. Paul did not share that theology.

Some people may try and take Paul's statements in this verse about weariness and painfulness, hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness to preach that Paul was speaking of sickness and poverty, but that cannot be proven from this passage. The beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, and other things that Paul had mentioned here would certainly have produced weariness and painfulness without any sickness being involved. Anyone who traveled as Paul did would also have encountered hunger, thirst, cold, and nakedness without being poor. A momentary need does not make one poor.

Everything else that Paul lists here is some form of persecution. Even those who believe sickness and poverty come from God do not believe it is persecution. Therefore, it would be totally out of character with the other things listed to interpret the things listed in this verse as referring to sickness and disease.

Note 18 at 2 Cor. 11:27: The Greek word that was translated "watchings" in this verse is "agrupnia" and is only used one other time in scripture, which happens to be in this same letter (2 Cor. 6:5). The word only has one meaning which is "sleeplessness." Therefore, "watchings" must be referring to times when Paul was so intent on seeking the Lord that sleep fled from him. This happened to many people in scripture including Jacob (Gen. 32:24-32), Darius (Dan. 6:18), Jesus (see note 1 at Lk. 6:12, p. 164), and the believers who prayed for Peter (Acts 12:5). Some other scriptures that mention "watching" are Luke 12:37, Acts 20:31, and Ephesians 6:18.