Cry out for His man – even if that man is different than what they would first choose. The prophet Samuel faced a similar experience at Jesse’s house in search of the next king. The Lord said, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart (1 Sam. 16:7)
The apostle Paul experienced similar redirection and surprise. Knowing the Lord called him to preach the gospel, he and his team set out from Antioch determined to share the Word throughout Asia. For days, weeks, and most likely for months they journeyed through the continent.
Luke
records they traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia,
having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of
Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter
Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them. So they
passed by Mysia and went on to Troas (Acts 16:6-7).
Frustrating
Talk about frustrating. Get out a map of New Testament Bible times and check out the progression of locations. In today's terms, it is a bit like starting in the United States at Charleston, South Carolina, and slowly traveling through the country, heading westward. Winding up through Tennessee and Missouri, you plan on having evangelistic campaigns. Surprisingly and unexpectedly, the Holy Spirit will not allow the plans to materialize. So, you move ahead, thinking, “Maybe the Lord wants us farther north. You trudge along for many days and weeks. Arriving in Nebraska, you make plans for some street preaching and home Bible studies. But suddenly, the Spirit of the Lord says, No, not here. Another closed door.
We don’t know how the Spirit communicated. Perhaps they experienced opposition from
people. Doors slammed in their
face. Or perhaps as they got to a place
and prayed privately or together, they had a sudden absence of peace or a quickening
of the Spirit inside saying, No, don’t do
this. Keep moving.
Finally, through the last leg of the monotonous
journey, they make it through Utah, Nevada, and end up in California. Not the trip they expected. They check into a motel in San Francisco, and
with their backs to the bay, they have nowhere else to go.
Imagine their frustration. And remember, there was no Amtrack, interstates, or airplanes. They journeyed on foot and on animals. This treck probably took months.
And one night everything changes. We don’t know how long they stayed in
Troas. Maybe it was one day, many days,
or weeks. But since God works the
night-shift, in the middle of Paul’s sleep one night, the Lord sends his
servant a vision. We call it The
Macedonian Vision. The man pleads, Come over to Macedonia and help us (Acts
16:9).
Macedonia is in Greece on the mainland. Greece is in Europe. Paul and his companions have been traveling
through Asia. While Paul and company had
the continent of Asia on their mind, God had other plans. He had Europe on his mind.
He wanted to get this missionary group to another continent. And the only way to do it was to guide them
through the Asian continent, experiencing closed door after closed door, until
finally they had their back to the ocean and the European continent.
Paul and his buddies become the first carriers of
the gospel of Christ to Europe. I sure
am glad they experienced all those frustrating closed doors, because the gospel
came to the United States of America because it first went to Europe.
Why this Way?
The cynical part of me thinks, “Why did the Lord do it this way?”
The cynical part of me thinks, “Why did the Lord do it this way?”
If it were me, I would have made it simple. Before Paul embarked on this long, arduous
journey, I would have met him in his quiet time one morning and said, Paul, forget about Asia. That is not my plan. I want you and your friends to high tail it
fast to Troas. When you get there, I am
going to take you to Europe.
But that is not how God often works. Yes, there are times when He will speak directly
to us about a situation or point in a specific direction. But most times he allows us and I believe
even wants us to do our part. He wants
us to pray, to think, to plan, to try, to step out, and yes, sometimes to
experience closed doors along the way.
It forces us to grow, to develop, to stretch, and to trust. And it teaches us to not take ourselves too
seriously.
An engineer friend of mine and father of three in
his early-thirties sensed God redirecting him into a different career path. The change required him to resign his job and
go to medical school for a couple of years.
Talk about a big change. Early in
the process he told me, “Rhett, I just want to make sure that God is in this
before I step out and make a mistake.”
I remember pointing him to Acts 16 and saying
something like, “The direction may not come until you first step out and start
trying. Sometimes God waits until we
move forward and make plans, all the while knowing that He is God and can
change our plans at any time.”
This will be continued in the article Surprised by God, Part Three.
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