Daily Devotional Thursday 7th May 2020
by William MoodyActs 16:6–10
The Macedonian Call
6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul1 had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Footnotes
[1] 16:10
Greek he (ESV)
Guidance is never an easy issue as Paul and his travelling companions discovered here (v6-8). As they travel we read of the Spirit twice stopping them to go into regions they had planned to enter into (v6-7).
We would love to know how the Spirit did this, but God in His wisdom did not get Luke to expand. What is more important is that in the area of guidance we need to ask do we fully trust that God’s ways are best? This is particularly needed when God says no to our requests.
Paul and his companions were probably disappointed as their plans were thwarted but God had something greater in mind. God had the desire to bring the gospel not just into a new region but into a new continent (v9-10).
When our plans are thwarted, we need to trust in the Sovereign Lord who overrules and works all things out for the good of His people. What we all need is a child-like faith, which trusts the Lord even when we don’t understand why He leads in an unexpected direction.
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