Timothy knew very well that Paul was no coward. When Paul challenged him to face tribulation, he was only asking him to do what he himself was prepared to do. Paul described his own sufferings: “I suffer trouble,” he said. He used the same word in verse 3 where he urged Timothy to “endure hardness.” Paul was incarcerated under the most rigorous conditions and was in such dire circumstances simply because he preached the gospel. He expected to be executed. He had no protection