In 2 Corinthians 
11, the apostle Paul recited a litany of excuses he had given for not regularly worshiping with the saints: “…in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness” (2 Cor. 11:23-27).
No, wait! Those were not his excuses for not worshiping or serving the Lord! That was a list of things that had happened to him because he was worshiping and serving the Lord! Can you imagine how quickly some of us might stop serving the Lord if just one or two of these things happened to us? Sort of takes the punch out of our excuses, doesn’t it?