- He faced death very often: (11:25): Paul was beaten with rods three times and three times was stoned. He was very close to death when an angry crowd plunged on him and tried to kill him in Lystra (Acts 14:19).
- He was shipwrecked three times: (11:25b): Three times he was shipwrecked. Paul would have made not less than 18-jouneys and most of them were by such primitive ships. Travelling in the open sea by ships was very dangerous, yet he did all this for the sake of the proclamation of the Gospel. The book of Acts does not cover all the records of Paul. It is believed that there was no man like Paul who had travelled extensively by ship and road in the first century proclaiming the Gospel.
- He travelled many miles on foot, faced danger from flooded rivers, robbers, Jewish and Gentile mobs: (11:26): Paul had travelled through flooded rivers because he cannot change his travel schedule. He was filled with great burden for the churches in Asia minor and Europe. Other worst dangers he faced was from robbers who rob and injure the lone travellers in the isolated places. Paul spent many dangerous days and nights in the wilderness. He also faced hostile mobs in the cities and towns for preaching the Gospel (Acts 13:50, 14:5, 19; 16:19). Many times his own friends and brothers became his foe and this has caused much trouble for Paul viz. Demas, Alexander the metal workers etc. (2 Tim.4:10,14
- He lived in hunger, thirst and ill-clothed in cold: (11:27): Paul lived a very hard life. He was in hunger, thirst and ill clothed, yet he continued his missionary journey. He had no regrets because he freely chose all these hardship so that he can move very fast and reach the people with the Gospel. He was always willing to serve the Lord Jesus, if these hardships were to become a part of serving the Lord, he would freely accept them. That’s why he was able to say that “I have been crucified with the Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me …” (Gal. 2:20). Men could not kill Paul, until God had finished His purpose for Paul on this earth. Further Paul’s wonderful words of encouragement to all the persecuted believers is that “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (4:17-19). For Corinthians it appeared foolishness when Paul was glorying in hardships. This is true of most of the so called Christians. We always glorify God in our prosperity, in our blessings but never in our afflictions.
- He bore daily the burden for the many churches he had started: (11:28-31): Paul had a deep concern for the churches he started and the churches he encouraged through his letters. Everyday Paul was in both physical and emotional stress. The anxiety was too great. It is not because of lack of his faith, but because of his deep concern and make each church as a missionary church so that they can be instrumental in sending the Gospel to far off areas. He was all the time thinking of the new churches worrying that they were staying true to the gospel and free from false teachings. He was concerned for each individual in the churches. He had no vacation. It might appear as a boasting of Paul, but he wrote all his hardship in order to prove that He was the real God’s servant. No one can go through such hardships for the sake of Gospel unless called by God. The people of Corinthians must understand and shun the false teachers moving around them.
- Paul’s miraculous escape in Damascus: (11:32-33): This was a miraculous escape as he was lowered in a basket when the whole crowd was standing there to kill him. Incidentally, Paul’s first conversion also took place in Damascus. King Aretas, king of the Nabateans (Edomites) had appointed a governor to oversee the Nabatean segment of the population in Damascus. The Jews in Damascus had impressed the governor to arrest Paul (Acts 9:22-25). Paul may have lived in Damascus for about 3-years preaching and teaching the people. Realizing the danger, Paul’s supporters lowered him in a basket and carried him away to a safe place. This could have happened between 37 – 39 AD.