A Pepper Grinder Post

Prevented

Do you worry about not following God's leading? I know I do. I get fearful that I might, while trying to follow God, make a wrong turn and discover later that I had spent lots of time and energy doing something God didn't want me to do. I want to look today at a passage that gives me comfort when I encounter those worries.

Here's my translation of Acts 16:6-10:

They* went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept from preaching the word in Asia by the Holy Spirit. Coming to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn't let them, so they passed Mysia and went down to Troas.

Paul saw a vision in the night: a Macedonian man who was standing and pleading with him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."

As soon as he'd seen the vision, we tried to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the Gospel to them.

*"They" are Paul and his traveling companions.

This incident takes place during Paul's second missionary journey. The original idea of this trip was for Paul and Barnabas to revisit churches where they had preached before. The trip had a rocky start, when Paul and Barnabas got into an argument about whether to bring John (who was also called Mark) along with them. Paul didn't want to, because John had left them on an earlier trip, but Barnabas wanted to give him another chance. The argument ended with Barnabas and John going off separately from Paul.

Paul, accompanied by Silas, started traveling around in what the New Testament refers to as Asia, which was not a continent at all, but a medium-sized province in what is modern-day Turkey. They picked up Timothy along the way, but were still traveling to places they'd been before. By the time we get to our passage, they were visiting towns they hadn't been to before, but they were still east of the bodies of water that are the dividing line between the present-day continents of Asia and Europe (the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Aegean Sea).

This is when God starts monkeying with their plans. One frustrating thing about this passage is the lack of detail. They were "kept from preaching the word in Asia by the Holy Spirit." But how?? We have no idea. They were already in Asia. Does this mean the Holy Spirit was not allowing them to preach the word as they traveled? That's what it sounds like to me, but it's hard to say for sure. "They tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn't let them." What did the Spirit do?? Again, no clue. I would love more details, but I guess God's point in recounting this is not the mechanics of how he did it, but the outcome. The places where Paul and Silas weren't allowed to preach were in the Asia of Bible times (sometimes referred to as Asia Minor which, thankfully for the sake of not completely confusing us, was in the present-day continent of Asia). For some time, which was probably longer than it seems from the short span of the verses, they weren't given positive direction. The only guidance they received was closed doors.

Finally, they ended up in Troas, which was a port city on the Aegean Sea from which one could easily sail west to Macedonia (part of modern-day Greece). It is at this point that Paul had a vision of a Macedonian, asking them to come over and help. Paul and Silas started working to arrange the voyage, and this all ended up with some of the most famous of the New Testament churches being formed: Phillipi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth.

So what's the point in dwelling on this somewhat indecisive chapter in Paul's ministry? What strikes me is that I don't need to worry so much about missing God's will. I think if someone is determined to follow his own path, he can very well go the wrong direction. However, I think that if, like Paul and Silas, someone is trying to be led by God, God is more than able to keep him from taking the wrong path. Think about Paul and Silas: they had a plan, things seemed to be going fine, but then they started hitting road blocks. It would be easy for them to have felt they were not being led by God. What was going on? They had no clue what they should do. But, eventually, God stepped in. The result was amazing, and much better than the plan they had been following.

What's the message for us? Most important of all is that we need to desire to be led by God. We need to be willing to give up our own plans when we discover God has a different idea. We need to see roadblocks, not as a negative, but as a positive part of God's leading. We need to be ready to move forward when it becomes clear where we are supposed to go.

We also need to remember that just because something seems like it ought to be the right thing to do, doesn't mean that it is. There were Paul and Silas trying to do their part in carrying out the Great Commission and the Holy Spirit wouldn't let them do it. If we slavishly try to do what we think makes sense for us to do as Christians, and refuse to let anything stop us, we may be missing God's direction.

I remember when I was looking for work before I was hired by my current employer. I was looking for work around the area where we lived, which was actually a pretty good place to find work, and certainly had more of the type of potential employers I was looking for than the area where we live now. I prayed specifically that God would close any door he didn't want me to go through. Boy, did he close doors! Slam, slam, slam. Finally, after months of looking, I was contacted out of the blue by a head hunter, telling me about a job in an area about a four-hour drive from where we were living. I had specifically said in everything I posted on sites online that I didn't want to relocate. But this guy called me anyway, and he convinced me to try applying for this job. I applied and I got the job. The pay is better than any of the jobs I had looked at in our old area. What's more, it's the best job I've ever had.

Do you feel like doors keep getting slammed in your face? Don't despair. If you want God to lead you, he will show you an open door, and it will lead to something good. It may be something hard, but it will be good, because it will be God's idea, not yours.

- Pepper
Posted 2019-05-21

*Image Credits: Map of Paul's first and second missionary journeys from UnderstandChristianity.com