A Divine Appointment (Acts 16:6-10)
"Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas. That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there." Acts 16:6-10
So Paul and his crew set out to strengthen the churches they had already established on a mission for Christ. Determined to build God's Kingdom at any cost, they charted their course and headed out towards Galatia. But along the way they ran into a few roadblocks sent by God Himself. On three separate occasions they were prevented from sharing Christ in certain areas for reasons otherwise unexplained except "the Spirit prevented them". Why would the Holy Spirit stifle their passion for God's work?
It's not clear why God shut several doors and frustrated their plans, but what is clear from the story is that as they continued to seek for God's direction they eventually came face to face with a divine appointment in Macedonia. Had they stuck with their original plans and forged ahead into Asia they would have missed it. They might even have been tempted to think, "well so long as we're sharing Christ somewhere God will bless us". But God was preventing them from "good" ministry elsewhere because He had something better for Paul and his team with a specific work in a specific place at a specific point in time. Because they were willing to be obedient to the leading of the Spirit, God's Kingdom prospered in the most effective and productive way.
It's easy when God seems to be closing doors all around us to get frustrated with God as He seems to be interfering with our plans for no apparent reason. But here again we are reminded that if God is in charge then we must be willing to acknowledge that He is the one calling all the shots in our lives. If He closes a door it's for a purpose. If we are seeking His will above our own then we can be at peace with the fact that His ways, His will, and His timing is always better than ours. God has no problem disrutping our plans for the sake of His Kingdom because He understands more than we can imagine (Isaiah 55:8; Ephesians 3:20).
In order to be committed to Kingdom purposes we must also be willing to set our plans aside for the sake of Christ and His message, and be yielded to the Spirit's leadership on a daily basis. We have to remember that God does not close doors on accident, rather He works all things together in accordance with His will so that His good purposes will be accoplished for those whom He has called to love Him (Rose paraphrase- Romans 8:28). Simply put, it's not our job to understand how and why God works in our lives, rather we are simply called to follow His lead in loving obedience to His plan for the world.
Father, help us to keep in tune with Your Spirit as you lead and order our steps into Your perfect will. May we never substitute Your plans for own in any arena of life. Help us to recognize where You are orchestrating divine appointments in our lives for the advancement of Kingdom purposes. Amen.
So Paul and his crew set out to strengthen the churches they had already established on a mission for Christ. Determined to build God's Kingdom at any cost, they charted their course and headed out towards Galatia. But along the way they ran into a few roadblocks sent by God Himself. On three separate occasions they were prevented from sharing Christ in certain areas for reasons otherwise unexplained except "the Spirit prevented them". Why would the Holy Spirit stifle their passion for God's work?
It's not clear why God shut several doors and frustrated their plans, but what is clear from the story is that as they continued to seek for God's direction they eventually came face to face with a divine appointment in Macedonia. Had they stuck with their original plans and forged ahead into Asia they would have missed it. They might even have been tempted to think, "well so long as we're sharing Christ somewhere God will bless us". But God was preventing them from "good" ministry elsewhere because He had something better for Paul and his team with a specific work in a specific place at a specific point in time. Because they were willing to be obedient to the leading of the Spirit, God's Kingdom prospered in the most effective and productive way.
It's easy when God seems to be closing doors all around us to get frustrated with God as He seems to be interfering with our plans for no apparent reason. But here again we are reminded that if God is in charge then we must be willing to acknowledge that He is the one calling all the shots in our lives. If He closes a door it's for a purpose. If we are seeking His will above our own then we can be at peace with the fact that His ways, His will, and His timing is always better than ours. God has no problem disrutping our plans for the sake of His Kingdom because He understands more than we can imagine (Isaiah 55:8; Ephesians 3:20).
In order to be committed to Kingdom purposes we must also be willing to set our plans aside for the sake of Christ and His message, and be yielded to the Spirit's leadership on a daily basis. We have to remember that God does not close doors on accident, rather He works all things together in accordance with His will so that His good purposes will be accoplished for those whom He has called to love Him (Rose paraphrase- Romans 8:28). Simply put, it's not our job to understand how and why God works in our lives, rather we are simply called to follow His lead in loving obedience to His plan for the world.
Father, help us to keep in tune with Your Spirit as you lead and order our steps into Your perfect will. May we never substitute Your plans for own in any arena of life. Help us to recognize where You are orchestrating divine appointments in our lives for the advancement of Kingdom purposes. Amen.
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