If Apostle Paul was so close to God, why did he suffer so much? If he served God less, would he have suffered less???

Quoting from http://devos20xx.blogspot.com/2017/01/on-suffering.html
"Super-Apostle Paul (who God used mightily) has passages in Scriptures dedicated to how he endured great sufferings ..."

I was like, "if Apostle Paul had served God less, would he have suffered less???".

Anyways, I just meant to bring up a previous write-up http://devos20xx.blogspot.com/2017/01/on-suffering.html "On Suffering".