Whatever Happens, God Will Guide You
Acts 16:6-10 (NIV)
Introduction
I grew up in Carter County, Tennessee, in the town of Elizabethton and in a cabin in my dad’s hometown of Roan Mountain, a few miles away. We kept that home in our family, and it’s alongside the Appalachian Trail at the base of the most beautiful spots on earth. The Roan Mountain Ridge towers about 6200 feet above sea level and there is still a lot of speculation about how it got its name. We call it “the Roan,” and perhaps the most likely explanation is that its covered with rhododendron bushes, which makes it the largest natural rhododendron garden on earth. When they bloom in mid-June, people come from all over the world to see them. But there’s another theory I was told as I grew up, and it involves Daniel Boone. It’s said he was exploring this area in the late 1700s or early 1800s on a roan-colored horse who became lame. Boone left the horse there and became lost. A year later, he visited again and his horse was fat and sleek and as healthy as could be. And he named the mountain for the horse.
It’s also said that when he was asked if he had gotten lost on the mountain, he replied, “I have never been lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.”
As I look back over my life with its mountains and valleys and summers and winters, I can say that as a follower of Christ, I have never been lost but I have been often bewildered. The way was not always as clear as I might have expected.
I wonder if any of you have been bewildered by life for three days, or three weeks, or three months, or three years? What about three decades? Do you ever feel you’re not quite sure what you’re supposed to doing or where you’re supposed to be going? Why is that?
- If God designed the universe, which is filled with more gigantic stars then there are grains on sand on earth, can He not design our lives?
- If He can guide the tiny hummingbird on its 600-mile, twice-annual journey across the Gulf of Mexico, can He not guide us?
Yes, but sometimes His guidance is very perplexing. Sometimes we are bewildered for days or weeks or years.
I want to show you a paragraph about this in the Bible. It’s one of the most instructive Scriptures in all of God’s Word about how He guides and leads and directs His children. It’s a paragraph from the book of Acts having to do with the second missionary journey of St. Paul the apostle. Let’s read it in Acts 16:6-10:
Scripture
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.
Background
Sir William Ramsey studied the life of Paul for decades and became one of the most respected scholars on the book of Acts and the life of Paul. He said, “This is in many respects the most remarkable paragraph in [the book of] Acts.”[1]
Let me provide some background. In Acts 13, a man named Barnabas was leading the growing church in the city of Antioch, which was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire. Needing help, he recruited Saul of Tarsus, who was also named Paul. The two of them worked in Antioch, and it was there they were sent out as the first church-sponsored missionary team in history. They went to Cyprus and on into what we would call today southern Turkey. They had some problems along the way, including the fact that their assistant, John Mark, deserted them and returned home.
Now, look at Acts 15:36-40: Some time later, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John [Mark]with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.
Now, the term “sharp disagreement” is a very strong Greek word. They had a terrible and prolonged argument.
Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
At the beginning of chapter 16, Paul came to the cities he had visited in what we now call southeast Turkey and he discovered that his prior visit had resulted in the conversion of a young man named Timothy, who joined him and Silas. So now we have three travelers in southeastern Turkey, and they had all of Asia Minor—that is, all of modern-day Turkey—before them.
But as they press from east to west across that great expanse, for some reason every door is closed, every option is forbidden, every opportunity is denied them. And day after day, they are not lost, but they are bewildered. Where did God want them to go? What did He want them to do?
And that brings us to our central paragraph of study:
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.
In other words, the team pressed westward through the interior of Turkey—or Asia Minor—but the Holy Spirit prevented Paul from preaching.
How He did this we aren’t told. There are several possibilities.
- Paul could have been sick—too ill to preach.
- He could have been warned in a dream or by a revelation not to preach.
- He might have simply had an inward impression that kept him from preaching.
But this must have been very perplexing to him. Here he was, prepared, eager, on a mission to preach, among people who needed the Gospel. But the Holy Spirit said, “Don’t do it.”
7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.
Since they couldn’t preach in one area, they tried to go in another direction but the Spirit of Jesus said, “No.”
8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.
If you look at a map, this is a long way! The total distance from their point of origin in Antioch in Syria to Troas, which is on the Aegean Sea, is over a thousand miles. And He was trying to follow the will of God, and there was simply one door closed after another. He kept trying to find a way forward and the Lord kept saying no.
And finally, look at what happened in verses 9-10:
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.
Finally, when Paul had gone as far as he could with nothing but frustrations and closed doors, he came to the shore of the ocean that separates modern Asia from modern Europe, and as he tossed and turned that night trying to make sense of it he was roused to see a figure of a man in his room, hovering there—a man from northern Greece. And the man said, “Please, we need the Gospel. Come over to Europe and help us.”
And now, something very subtle happens. Suddenly the writer of the book of Acts, the beloved physician, Luke, is there beside Paul and the narrative changes to “we.” According to the early historian, Eusebius, Luke was from Antioch. But there was a respected medical school in Philippi, and could it be that Luke, the beloved physician, was in Philippi and was the “man from Macedonia”?
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.
There is a mystery to this passage and you can read all the theories and explanations and I don’t have the answers. All I can tell you is that Paul was never lost but he was bewildered for about three months and hundreds of miles. Instead of opening doors the Lord was closing them, one after another. And in this way He led Paul, Silas, and Timothy to the Macedonian call, gave him a helper named Luke, and sent Him westward into Europe with the Gospel rather than eastward into Asia.
And it changed history!
Now, what can we learn from this about our own journeys? Let me give you four lessons.
What All This Means
1. GOD’S WILL FOR OUR LIVES IS PERPLEXING: THAT’S WHY WE WALK BY FAITH.
We do not always understand why we feel shut out, why we encounter one closed door after another. But part of the reason is this: He is teaching us to walk by faith.
When I graduated from Graduate School in 1976, I drove right back home to Roan Mountain where I started looking for a church to pastor and preparing for my wedding to Katrina that fall. There were many little churches in the mountains needing a pastor, but none of them wanted to hire me. Katrina and I were married, and we both got jobs at retail stores. We were interviewed by twelve different churches, and each one of them said no. For an entire year—the entire first year of our marriage—every door closed. But then, on our first wedding anniversary, a little country church outside of Greeneville, Tennessee sounded a Macedonian Call and said, “Come over here and help us.”
In the years afterward, we were as thankful for the twelve closed doors as we were for the one that opened.
I’m not a golfer, but it’s hard to see a beautiful golf course and not want to play a game in such a beautiful setting. One man who did want to play—and to play professionally—was Jon Decker. His childhood dream was being a pro golfer. Part of the reason is where he was born, which was at Fork Gordon Army Base in Augusta, Georgia. As a child, his uncle had taken him to the Augusta National Golf Course where the Masters is played every year. Jon later said that the moment he saw that course, he was hooked. He felt like he was in a fairy tale. It was the most beautiful place he had ever seen, with the greenest grass. The players in their colorful clothing looked like an artist’s palate. From that moment, he knew he wanted to become a professional golfer. By high school, he was amazing on the course. He was recruited by several schools, but he decided to go to East Carolina University where he wanted to walk onto the team.
And Jon had a disastrous tryout. When he learned he didn’t make the team, he turned his face to the wall and wept like a baby. He thought his life was over.
But much later in life he wrote:
I failed in my attempt to make the golf team during my freshman year, but now I teach collegiate and professional golfers on a regular basis. I’ve taught at the…Woman’s U.S. Open and at…PGA Championships…. I now teach my old suitemates who did make the golf team in August of 1985. I’ve given regular lessons to [many great golfers]…. God closed the door on my collegiate golf career and opened the door to my professional teaching career, bringing me back to my dearest friends and their families on a regular basis as a guide to their development and improvement as players.”[2]
Today John is the Director of Instruction for The Medallion Club in Westerville, Ohio, and a Top 25 Instructor for Golf Tips Magazine. He also leads Bible studies and serves as a spiritual coach to those he instructions.
The German hymn, “Now Thank We All Our God,” has this beautiful stanza:
Now may this bounteous God
Be all our lives be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
And blessed peace to cheer us.
And keep us in His grace
And guide us when perplexed
And free us from all ills
In this world and the next.
We need guidance amid perplexity. God leads us through closed doors more than through open doors. For me during that first year of marriage, I had twelve closed doors but finally I got to Troas and found the one He wanted to open.
It only stands to reason we would have many more closed doors than open doors, doesn’t it? There are probably a thousand things God does not want us to do compared to every one that He does.
And through it all, we are learning to walk by faith.
2. GOD’S WILL FOR OUR LIVES IS PROGRESSIVE: THAT’S WHY WE KEEP KNOCKING ON DOORS.
Look at verse 7: When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.
They tried! They tried this way and that way!
Now, of course, the Lord knew exactly where He wanted them to go, and He could have told them from the very beginning: “Go straight to Troas and there you’ll get the Macedonian call.” But He didn’t.
I confess I do not fully understand why. All I know is that’s the way life has worked the best for me.
If we’re too passive, we never knock on doors. We just wait to see if the Lord will open them without putting in the necessary effort and risk.
If we’re too aggressive, we try to push open the doors and go where God doesn’t intend.
So I’ve found the best approach is to knock softly or nudge against the door. If it opens, praise the Lord. If it doesn’t, praise the Lord.
3. GOD’S WILL FOR OUR LIVES IS PREMEDITATED: THAT’S WHY WE STAY POSITIVE.
The most remarkable thing about this paragraph—and you have to read it closely or you’ll miss it—is the involvement of the Trinity. I don’t know how to explain it, but the Lord was not just somehow casually leading Paul and his companions along a puzzling pathway. The entire Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—were collaborating to synchronize everything perfectly.
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.
Whenever you see the word “God” by itself in the New Testament—the Greek word Theos—it is inevitably a reference to God the Father. God the Father had called them to preach the Gospel in Macedonia. God the Son had planned the route. And God the Holy Spirit was guiding them down the unknown path one step at a time.
And the plan is born from eternity past.
Psalm 139:16 (TLB) says: You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in Your book!
In the first volume in my series of books called Then Sings My Soul, I told the story of how Joseph Gilmore wrote the hymn, “He Leadeth Me.” His father was the governor of New Hampshire, and it was during the darkest days of the Civil War. Joseph had just graduated from seminary, and he was asked to speak at the midweek service of a church in Philadelphia. He decided to give a talk about the Twenty-third Psalm, but somehow he couldn’t get past the words, “He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Joseph talked about God’s wonderful guidance even in perilous times. He later said the words of that verse took hold of him as they had never done so before, and after the service was over he took a blank sheet of paper and instantly wrote the words to this hymn, which has been such a comfort and a blessing to me all of my entire life.
He leadeth me, O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’ere I be,
Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me.
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.
4. GOD’S WILL FOR OUR LIVES IS PURPOSEFUL: THAT’S WHY WE CANNOT STOP.
Paul and his handful of fellow travelers made it to Troas, saw the man from Macedonia, met the beloved physician Luke, and crossed over to modern-day Europe and brought the Gospel to the city of Philippi. They could not, would not stop.
At age 70, I’ve been looking back over my life, and the doors that I really wanted to open didn’t. But other doors that I could never have imagined did open. And I can see it was all in the purposeful providence and guidance of the Lord. And I cannot stop and will not stop.
And neither will you.
We may sometimes be bewildered for three days—as the disciples were on the weekend of Christ’s crucifixion. But Sunday dawned and clarity came… because whatever happens to the child of God who is seeking to follow Jesus Christ, God will guide you.
[1] William M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1982), 198.
[2] Adapted from Jon Decker, Golf is My Game (Meadville, PA: Christian Faith Publishing), passim.