Acts 16:6-10
New International
Version 1984 (NIV1984)
6 Paul and his companions
traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from
preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they
came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of
Jesus would not allow
them to. 8 So
they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had
a vision of a man of
Macedonia standing
and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the
vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God
had called us to preach the gospel
to them.
11 From
Troas we put
out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12 From
there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman
colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we
stayed there several days. 13 On the Sabbath we went
outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of
prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of
those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city
of Thyatira, who was
a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to
respond to Paul’s message. 15 When
she and the members of her household were
baptized, she invited
us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come
and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
Have you ever wondered what God’s
will was for your life? Have you ever
asked the Lord to guide you in the direction He would have you go? How many times after you asked for this
guidance did you question where God was leading you? As we read this scripture today we see that
Paul, Silas, and Timothy had a plan.
Their plan was to go into Asia and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sounds like a good plan and one that the Lord
would bless, but wait, something told them not to go there. I have to wonder just how the Spirit of the
Lord let them know that they should not go there. Was it through a gut feeling or a stop by the
border patrol or was it a still small voice within each of them saying, “This
is not where you are to go”? Whichever scenario
it was, these men recognized that it was not circumstance but rather it was a
direction from the Lord. They did not
question it but simply turned away and waited for what would come next.
Paul then had a dream and that
dream gave him direction for his next move.
He was to go to Macedonia because a man was begging him to come and help
them. I found it interesting that when
they arrived and went to pray, they found a group of women to minister to. Amongst the woman was a woman by the name of
Lydia who believed Paul’s teaching and she responded to it. Christ worked through a woman even though
Paul was called by a man in his dream. Some
people who would have had a dream such as this would have gone looking for a
man. I myself would have probably missed an opportunity to witness to the women
because I would have been too busy trying to find the man I was to help! Yet because Paul was led by the Spirit and not
by his own intuition, Lydia and her entire household believed and were
baptized. Sometimes it is through woman
that man believes and this must have been the case in this situation. This was a woman of great influence not only
on her family but on her community and God placed these men in her pathway in perfect
timing so God could speak to her heart.
The lesson I learned today is to
wait upon the Lord. Follow His ways and
know that whatever the situation, it is not coincidence but is the guidance of
the Holy Spirit. If we let go of our
ideas and let God guide, His good and perfect will is going to be
completed. Trust in Him to guide you and
do not let circumstances lead you to
doubt His will but simply wait upon Him in order that His will be fulfilled
through you.
Seek Him and know that His ways
are the best ways.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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