Do you ever want
to go one way and the Lord leads you another way? Maybe it’s your background,
your environment, even your own limitations that keep you from going the way
you want to go. It could even be even sinful experiences either your own, or what
others have done against you that thwarts your plans.
God’s answers of
“no” are probably more common in the Bible that God’s answers of “yes”. Perhaps
one of the most obvious examples of this is Paul’s second missionary journey.
It begins with a “sharp contention” (Acts 15:39) between Paul and Barnabas over
whether John Mark is to go with them. Barnabas retraces their first route while
Paul journeys the reverse course, to Cilicia, Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium. Their
goal was simply to return to the churches they established on the first journey
and “see how they were doing” (Acts 15:36).
Twice the Holy
Spirit constrained Paul, Silas and Timothy. First, they were forbidden to
preach in Asia. Then, “the Spirit did not permit them” to go to Bithynia (see
Acts 16-6-7).
So, what did Paul
do? Did he give up and go home? No. Did he blame others like Barnabas or have
self-doubts about his stubborn contention over John Mark? Maybe. Did he keep
going until he heard the call of God? Absolutely. “We sought to go to
Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them”
(16:10).
One of the most
common reasons people stop serving the Lord is when God puts what we think are
road blocks on our plans. Paul’s original plan appeared to go clockwise like he
did on his first journey then circle back to Antioch (Syria). Instead, the Holy
Spirit led them not to a dead end, but to a detour from Paul’s plans and a call
to the Lord’s plans.
Like Paul and
probably like you, I’ve had the Lord change my plans. God’s changes are not
God’s cancellations, but course corrections. The Spirit’s detours are not dead
ends, but new, better destinations. Sure there were imprisonments and beatings
along the way, but there were also conversions and eventually Paul ended up in
at the Areopagus, conferring and convincing the philosophers of Athens.
God’s delays and
detours are not His denials. Keep listening for God’s Macedonian call for your
life.
