Acts 16:9-10 “That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there pleading with him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us!’ So, we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.”
So often in our lives we come to times of decision and direction. What we think and feel is the right way to go, is not always the way God wants us to go. In Acts, Paul and Silas thought it was time to head into Asia, but that wasn’t the direction God had for them. They tried another route, but again, God stopped them. Finally, in the quiet of the night, God showed Paul the plan and the men headed in the direction God wanted them to.
In my own life, I am often like Paul and Silas and I just want to get moving. This way looks good, I have good intentions, so let’s make it happen. Unfortunately for me, I did not always listen to the ‘Spirit of Jesus’ (v7) as Paul and Silas did, and at times, my plans failed or fell short. I have learned that listening to God and waiting on God can save me a lot of frustration and disappointment.
After college, I moved to London to work for a Christian charity. Sounds good right? I got a chance to live in the great city of London, to work for God, experience new things and culture; why wouldn’t God want me to do this? It turned out to be a challenging 18 months of my life. I was alone, far away from home. I was learning to live independently for the first time while in another country and I felt like I was failing every step I took.
God and I got very close during that time; we spent a lot of time talking and it was during that time that I really learned to hear his voice in my life. I remember one very lonely day asking God why things were so hard. He said, “Jayme, did I tell you to move here?” Ugh, my response, “well God, you didn’t tell me NOT to move here.”
You see, I was young and still maturing in my faith. All the excitement of being offered the job and making plans, got in the way of prioritizing sitting down and praying for God’s guidance. I had never asked Him if this was the direction He wanted me to go.
I am convinced now that God used that experience to stretch me and shape me in ways I could not have been stretched otherwise and He brought me to a place of pure reliance on Him.
When I come to times of decision and choice in my life, I am reminded of that time. There are decisions in my life that do not have a right or wrong answer, I simply need to choose. There are some decisions where I think I’m going the right way but God shows me He has another direction in mind. And there are still other decisions that I have to wait on God to show me the way, to bring ‘the man from Macedonia’ to me. One thing is so clear, God always has a plan and God is always at work in my life. I need to make sure I am in relationship with Him, that I am including Him in everything that is going on in my life and that I listen for his direction.
