When I think about people I’d want to sit across the table from and ask life’s biggest questions, Paul the Apostle ranks near the top. Here's a man who faced beatings, imprisonments, shipwrecks, betrayals, and overwhelming obstacles. Yet he kept going with joy. With fire. With purpose.

Sometimes in the middle of my own struggles, I wonder: How did he do it? What fueled his perseverance? How did he truly grasp the depth of God's grace after everything he'd done before his conversion?

If I had just one afternoon with Paul, these are the burning questions I'd ask him about faith, grace, and perseverance.

1. Paul, how did you find the strength to keep believing when everything fell apart?

Paul’s life wasn’t a straight path. You'd think things might have gotten easier after his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus. Instead, they got harder. Persecution followed him wherever he went.

I would love to hear how Paul kept the faith during the long nights in prison, the moments when friends abandoned him, or the times he faced angry mobs. How did he not lose heart?

From his letters, I imagine he'd tell me: "I didn’t rely on my own strength. I leaned fully on Christ, who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
Faith wasn’t a feeling for Paul; it was a decision—daily, hourly, sometimes minute-by-minute-to trust God's promises more than his pain.

2. What does grace really feel like, after being the 'worst of sinners'?

Paul never forgot who he had been before Jesus—someone who persecuted Christians and dragged them off to jail. That kind of guilt could have crushed him.

But grace changed everything.

In 1 Timothy 1:15, Paul calls himself the worst of sinners, yet also the recipient of overflowing mercy. I would want to hear Paul describe what it felt like to be set free from shame. Did he struggle with flashbacks? Did he ever wonder if he deserved to lead others?

I think Paul would remind me that grace isn't about deserving anything. It’s a gift. Unearned. Undeserved. Lavished upon us.
And the right response to grace? It’s gratitude, not guilt.

3. How did you stay motivated when the harvest was so slow?

In our instant-everything world, waiting feels unbearable. We pray for loved ones to come to faith. We labor in ministry. We do our best, but the fruit takes forever, or doesn’t come the way we expect.

Paul knew slow growth. He knew discouragement. He spent years in relative obscurity before his first missionary journey took off. Some churches flourished. Others struggled. Some people betrayed him.

How did he keep going?

I imagine he'd smile gently and say, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow" (1 Corinthians 3:6).
It’s not about getting credit. It’s about being faithful.

4. When you felt broken and weak, how did you still see yourself as useful to God?

Paul was brutally honest about his weaknesses. He talked about a "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) that tormented him. We don't know exactly what it was, but we know it left him feeling weak and dependent.

I’d want to know: Did you ever feel like giving up completely? Like you had nothing left to offer?

Paul would probably tell me that weakness is where God shines brightest.
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
(2 Corinthians 12:9)
Our limitations aren’t liabilities. They're the places where God’s power shows up in ways we can’t explain.

5. What one piece of advice would you give modern believers about perseverance?

We live in a noisy, distracted world. Faithfulness isn’t flashy or popular, and perseverance often feels lonely.

If Paul could give just one piece of advice for hanging in there, what would it be?

I think he'd tell us to keep our eyes on the prize: Jesus Himself.

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).

Not the applause of people. Not comfort. Not earthly success.
But Jesus. Only Jesus.

Final Thoughts

Sometimes when I think about Paul’s life, it feels overwhelming. But then I remember: he wasn't perfect. He struggled. He hurt. He questioned.
Yet through it all, he clung to Christ, and Christ held him fast.

That same hope is available to you and me, right now, right here.

You don't have to be perfect. You just have to be willing to trust that God’s grace really is enough, even when your strength isn't.