Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of
Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching
the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of
Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithnia, but again the Spirit of
Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to
the seaport of Troas. Acts 16:6-10 (NLT)
Fascinating situation… Paul and Silas were sent on a missionary
journey. They showed up in a location, and the Holy Spirit forbid them to go
there. Now, I don’t know how this happened exactly but I believe it was
spiritual in nature - the rest of Acts is pretty clear about physical barriers
like “this wasn’t safe” or “our boat was destroyed” so I don’t think this was a
situational impediment. Probably a check in the spirit or in prayer.
The other interesting thing is how loosely Luke (the author) plays
around with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus, using them almost
interchangeably. This mirrors Acts 5 with Ananias and Saphira when it says in
one place that they lied to the Holy Spirit, and in another they lied to God.
It’s good indirect evidence for the trinity.
So here we have Paul and Silas sent by God to preach the gospel, stopped along the way from doing so. However, it wasn’t Satan impeding
them but God. He gave an overall vision and then course correction along the
way.
For me, this means I need to be ever more sensitive to the leading
of the Holy Spirit. When we are listening, we understand the course corrections
immediately. We quickly understand that it’s God stopping us and we don’t
automatically think it’s Satan. I wonder how often we pray for God to go
against His own will!
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