We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

COMMENTARY

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
By definition, the most common storms we face will be the usual afflictions of life: sickness, death, betrayal, doubt, pain, wars, misunderstanding, ignorance, and vice. No matter our lifestyle these are unavoidable.As Paul himself describes in these verses, we are troubled, perplexed, persecuted, and cast down.
But Paul also asserts that we can be all of these things, yet still not overcome. We can be buffeted by the storm, but not overwhelmed by it. That sounds very encouraging. If the storm cannot be removed entirely, at least it can be limited from swamping us entirely. But hearing this promise one naturally has to ask “but why? And how?”

Always bearing the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our body
And he will take upon him their infirmities, that he may know how to succor his people according to their infirmities
Paul anticipates that question, and in his very next verse points to the dying sacrifice of Jesus which buoys us up in life. It is that alone which holds the storms of life at a manageable level.
Thus if we were abandoned in this fallen world then these storms would overwhelm us. We might stand against them for a time, but eventually we would break and succumb. Each of us would become jaded, cynical, and faithless.
But for those that will accept his help, Jesus planted himself in that exact same storm alongside of us. He knows how the waves hit, and he knows how to bolster us where we would otherwise fall. The storm does have the power to destroy us, but it does not have the power to destroy us and Christ together.