If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed for ever, knows that I am not lying. 32 At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, 33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands. ESVUK

Verse 30 is important for what is to come next, in chapter 12. This human ”weakness” was at the heart of Paul’s ministry, and he knew it was key to the release of God’s power. It was a weakness he was conscious of from the beginning of his Christian life. He had been such a strong man, on the war path in his opposition to the church. But on the road to Damascus the Lord blinded him, so that he could see, and he had to be led ”by the hand” into the city. He was dependent on a Christian man to come and pray for him in order to get his sight back. He had set off for Damascus as a proud Jew searching out Christians, but he left that place as a humble believer hiding in a basket.

From the beginning, he knew that weakness was going to be the way forward.