comparable: “The Lord stood by me and strengthened me, in order that through me the proclamation might be fulfilled and that all the Gentiles might hear it” (2 Tim. 4:17, and cf. comments below on 1:25). The apostle, however, did not merely say that the gospel had continued to make progress in spite of adversity; rather, the adversity itself had turned out for the advancement of the gospel. Far from trying to evoke sympathy from his readers by expressing resignation, the apostle went out of his way