2 Corinthians 1:6

But whether we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or whether we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which worketh in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer.

For your comfort and salvation ... All of the hardships endured by the apostle were for the sake of the eternal salvation of his converts. This is the motivation which even yet supplies the energy for many faithful ministries of the gospel. Whatever earthly hardships and persecutions attend the work, either of ministers or others, the goal of saving souls from eternal death is paramount.

The same sufferings ... In this Paul acknowledged that the Corinthians themselves were under the same hatred and opposition of Satan that he himself endured.

Patient enduring ... The Christian answer to the devil's opposition, however manifested, is patient endurance. Steadfastness is the prime requirement of all Christian living.