2 Cor 1:3-5
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."
The theology of comfort: God is ho theos pases parakleseos — the God of all comfort. The comfort received in suffering is passed on. Paul’s suffering is not wasted — it is a school of comfort for ministry.
2 Cor 1:8-10
"For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead."
Paul describes a life-or-death crisis in Asia (probably Ephesus). The divine purpose: to learn not to trust in oneself but in God who raises the dead. Extreme suffering is a school of radical faith.