THE LIVING CHURCH
Meditations in the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 16:6-10

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THESE few verses are of particular interest because we can clearly see Paul being guided by God. There is no doubt that the business of being guided by God is a difficult one, yet one of supreme importance. Every true believer is concerned to know God's guidance. We want to know God's guidance because we want to live our lives in the will of God. We want God's guidance because we know how foolish and unwise we are ourselves in choosing the way we should go in life. Yet when it comes to the point of discerning and knowing God's will and purpose, knowing what God is saying to us is not always clear. We can want to go in one direction so much that we imagine God is speaking to us when he isn't. Then even when we are waiting on God for his guidance, it is not always so clear what God is saying to us.

Let us learn from this history that God does most surely guide his people. In the verses before us we see Paul receiving guidance from God. We see this guidance as sure and clear, though we are not told the details. We are told that the Holy Ghost made sure that Paul went where God purposed he went. When Paul sought to move into the province of Asia, we are told the Holy Spirit kept him from doing so. Again when Paul tried to enter Bithynia the Holy Spirit, called the Spirit of Jesus, prevented him.

We are not told how the Holy Spirit told Paul that he was not to go into Asia and Bithynia, but it is plain that he made his will known to Paul. The important thing was that Paul wanted to know God's will and go where God wanted him to go. If he had been like Jonah who did not want to do God's will, like Jonah he could have gone into either of these places. What this passage makes clear is that God does guide and that guidance becomes clear when we make a move in the wrong direction. It is also true, as Jonah found out, that when we deliberately turn away from the Holy Spirit's direction, things become difficult until like Jonah we repent and turn back into the way of God.

The sureness of God's guidance is seen here with Paul in that God made clear to him, in this case by a vision, that his next ministry should be carried out in Macedonia. This does not mean that we have to look for guidance through a vision. This is just one of many and various means God may use to make his will known. What it assures us of is that God can and does make his will clear. Let us hold on to this truth concerning the certainty of guidance so that we may go forward in life in faith.

The experience of Paul is also helpful in proceeding in knowing God's guidance. No doubt Paul was in continual prayer to God concerning where he should go and what he should do, yet it is plain that he had the same problems as we do concerning knowing the guidance of God. He thought that Asia was the place he should minister in next, so he tested this by seeking to move into Asia. At this point, Paul being sensitive to God, and desiring to obey God, God made his will known to him, that Asia was not where he should go. The same happened when he tried to enter Bithynia. Here is some specific help to us as we seek to know God's guidance. We pray and use our minds and understanding to discern what is the next step for us. We then test the will of God by making a decision, at the same time relying on God to let us know if that decision is wrong. Of course there must be a willingness and a desire to be corrected if our decision in wrong.

Much of the Christian life is like this. We don't hear a voice. We rarely see a vision. However most Christians have had the experience of what is called 'God shutting doors' in front of them. When this happens we should not try to force the door, but look for the 'window' opened in some other direction. This is what happened to Paul. God gave him the vision of the man from Macedonia calling him to come and help the people of Macedonia.

There is a further thought as we consider Paul's experience. It is the fact that God's timing is not ours. When it was God's time for Paul to go into Macedonia, God made this clear and enabled Paul to obey. For us waiting is very difficult, yet we must be prepared to wait upon God with faith and patience.

The last lesson to learn from these verses is that when Paul received his guidance he immediately got busy in following this guidance. We read in verse 10 that after the vision Paul's party immediately got ready to leave for Macedonia. We wait for guidance, but there must be no waiting once guidance has been received.