Acts 16:6-15
6They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; 8so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
11We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, 12and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. 13On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. 15When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.
Driving in the city is challenging enough, but then when the water company starts digging up streets to replace the lines and connections, driving becomes impossible. Day after day it seems, a new detour springs up taking you the long way around or a new closed road sign forces you to have to find a new route around. If I didn’t have an application on my phone that would give me directions to where I wanted to go, I would have even more difficulty trying to get to work or school.
Just as it is with road construction signs, so too is it with the direction of the Holy Spirit. In the book of Acts, Paul and company are directed where to go by the Holy Spirit. But, like the detours, they were forbidden to enter Asia and Bithynia. The Holy Spirit was steering them to a specific time and place and that meant a do not enter command to those places which were not. What if the Holy Spirit is steering us to specific places and people? What if we are being directed to a conversation or interaction under the purpose and plan of God?
The Apostles must have been discouraged because they literally ran out of road. After coming to Troas, they could not go anywhere. The only place was across the see. But that was always the plan and after a vision, the Apostles become convinced this was the direction to go. Have we ever had a dead end on our journey? Have we been told not to go here or there, and we are facing a cul-de-sac with no way to move forward? Even when we cannot see the way forward, the Spirit of Jesus Christ still has a journey in mind, just as Paul was told the way forward and he went.
The results of following the steering of the Holy Spirit is the interaction of Paul and Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth and the founding of the first church in Europe and the one dearest to Paul’s heart. This was the plan, but Paul was never shown it until he obeyed and followed. What if it’s the same with us? What if we are only shown the plan in stages and the stage right in front of us? We might be kept in the dark as to the whole process and result until we follow and obey, and then the purpose of God is made known. What if the plan of God is hidden from us until we follow in faith?
Friends, might God be steering us through the Holy Spirit? Avoid here. Go there. Tell Lydia. Plant a Church. Speak the Gospel to them. Like the Apostles the Spirit is still leading and guiding us, keeping us from going there, but steering us to go here. But the Spirit is also hiding the entire plan and process from us as a test of our faith. Will we follow in faith instead of seeing the results? Are we yet like Paul with the faith to trust the lead of the Spirit, and to follow the signs trusting God knows the way and the path and the result? Maybe we need to entrust our roads and our journeys more into the hands of God and just follow wherever we are led. Amen.
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