OBEY GOD’S LEADING

As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decrees decided on by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for the churches to observe. [5] So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they continually increased in number day after day. Acts 16:4-5 AMP

Following God’s Will or Obeying His Leading can be confusing when we do this with our mind and look to our circumstances. God sees everything and knows everything from beginning to end, so we are to get into the habit of “ stop, drop and pray” for His leading. I use to coach my kids when they were young to “stop, drop and pray”! It really works because as soon as we pray the enemy flees. The devil is working to keep us in a hurry, but resist him. Isaiah 26:8-18 

If we look to a biblical example, Apostle Paul’s second missionary journey he revisited several of the places where he had planted churches on his first missionary journey. After he had visited Antioch, he turned almost due west and was heading towards Ephesus, the largest city in Asia Minor. However, Acts 16:6 reads, “The Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia.” 

In our own life, we can see this as God saying, “Stop, Do not enter here! We don’t always know why we can’t do something because we can’t see beyond the trees. But God knows! He eventually reveals His reasons later when we wait on Him in our journey.

Paul, who preferred preaching in large population areas, then turned to go towards Byzantium and went due north. However, “coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there” (Acts 16:7). So at that point they turned back due west and went to Troas where Paul finally had a vision in the night and got direction for his trip.

We don’t know how the Holy Spirit told Paul that he and his companions should not go to Asia. It may have been through a prophet, a vision, an inner conviction, or some other circumstance. To know God’s will does not mean we must hear his audible voice. He leads in different ways. When you are seeking God’s will, (1) make sure your plan is in harmony with God’s Word, (2) ask mature Christians for their advice, (3) check your own motives to see if you are seeking to do what you want or what you think God wants, and (4) pray for God to open and close doors as he desires.

This story illustrates God’s leadership is not always easy. This godly missionary tried to go to Ephesus, but the Lord said it was not time. He tried to go to another major city, but again the Lord said no. He eventually wound up in a much smaller and less significant city. 

But now there is a closed door. The closed door is the door to Asia. Paul and Silas had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. This reference to Asia speaks of the Roman province of Asia. This was the area of southwestern Anatolia. It was the area in which lay the seven cities that would later host the seven churches of Revelation, Chapter 2-3. Paul and Silas had already seen this area as fertile ground for the gospel. They had plans to start churches in this area, but the Holy Spirit said, "Not now."

There is a lesson here for us. Can I tell you the rest of the story? There eventually was an open door in this area. Indeed, there would be seven open doors in this area. How do I know that? Because the book of Revelation is addressed to seven churches that were eventually planted in this area.

I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. (Revelation 3:8).

This was written to the church at Philadelphia. There was an open door placed before this church. It was open because God had opened it. Paul came to this area and the door was closed, but a few years later there is a church here with an open door.

The lesson is that while God sometimes closes a door temporarily, He also sometimes opens a door temporarily. 

A closed door is no guarantee that the door will stay closed and an open door is no guarantee that the door will stay open.

We don’t like to hear about closed doors, but they are a real part of life. An unexpected and debilitating illness; the loss of a job; family problems; the onset of discouragement or depression -- closed doors can take on a variety of forms. 

The good news is that we worship God, the great I Am, He is able to work all things together for good. We see this in this account. Paul was thinking of winning the land of Anatolia; God was thinking of winning all of Europe. He had temporarily closed this door only so that Paul and his missionary team would go through a better door.

God’s leadership in our journey can look like a Z. Many of us have experienced similar things. We thought God was leading us one place only to experience a painful closed door. So we tried something else that was consistent with how the Lord had led us before only to see that door closed also. It was only when we got to a place we had never intended to go that we got to where we should be. 

The point is that we should not be discouraged when doors close in our lives. Closed doors are an effective way in which to lead us to God’s will just as open doors. If your life has done a lot of zig-zagging, you are in good company. The great apostle Paul’s life was the same.

God will restore them.

He will raise them up again and restore them back to health.

So in my sickness I say to you,

“Lord, be my kind healer.

Heal my body and soul; heal me, God!

For I have confessed my sins to you.” Psalm 41:3-4 TPT - 

Another point, Paul has a vision in the middle of the night. It is a man of Macedonia. This was the land to the north of Greece. This man of Macedonia was asking for help. It is that God often leads us through needs. He makes known to us a need and that knowledge is a call to action.

How do we determine what is the will of God? 

How do we come to see God’s leading? 

The natural way of hearing is through our physical ears, however the most effective way is by the Holy Spirit. He guides us —NOT by words that we hear with our physical ears, but by our spirit. God wants to direct your life through your decision making through what the Bible calls, the “Inward Witness.”

Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:6 NLT

An inner witness is an impression or perception on the inside of you.(Romans 8:16 NLT)

But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. Jeremiah 7:23-24

In the Kingdom, we’re not led by our senses, not by our ears or our eyes but we are led by our spirit. When we talk about hearing God, we’re not talking about hearing God with our physical ears. We’re talking about hearing Him in our spirit. 

So how does God direct us when we pray for such direction? Let me suggest several ways:

1. Through His Word.

If you are contemplating doing something and that thing is forbidden in the Bible, then God is "leading" you NOT to do it. That seems like an obvious one, but I include it because of the times I've heard people say that they thought that God was leading them to do that which was clearly against what the Bible taught.

2. Through a witness of the Holy Spirit or spiritual counselor.

Proverbs 11:14 says, "Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory." We all tend to suffer from spiritual myopia. We all have our own blind spots. The advantage of several spiritual counselors is that they can sometimes see with a better perspective that which we are missing.

3. Through Circumstances.

In 1 Corinthians 16:9-10, Paul says, "I shall remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective service has opened to me." It seems that a portion of his decision-making was determined by the way the Lord had revealed Himself through the open door of circumstances. Along these same lines, Paul and his companions reported "all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts 14:27). They viewed those acts of circumstances as God having opened a door for them.

Let me share an analogy I heard a pastor preach. If your boat or ship is coming into Port, you will see two towers, each with a large sign. If it is dark, there are corresponding lights on the towers. As you pilot the vessel through the channel, you must line up these two lights so that they appear as one. Move to the right or left and you run the risk of running up onto rocks or a sandbar.

We have three such lights that guide our navigation in our spiritual life. These lights serve to guide us. The first light is the Word; if that one is green you can proceed. The second light is our inner witness of peace; if that one is green you can proceed. The third one is what God is speaking to your heart personally. But you can't just skip the first two lights and go on just the third one. All three lights must be green to proceed through the opening [door].

Homework 📚 

Apostle Paul provides a perfect example in Acts 27 for us in how we can learn to listen, perceive and walk in the Will of God. Paul had been arrested and he was headed to his trial via a ship. Before he took the journey he sensed something in his spirit. He wasn’t the captain of the ship, but he sensed something in his spirit. And in Acts 27:10, Apostle Paul said, “Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.” It wasn’t long before the ship hit a cyclone. But an angel appeared and assured Paul that everyone would make it, and they did. Understand that Paul said in the beginning prior to the journey he said, “I perceived.” This is what we’re covering. We’re talking about being led by the spirit. Can you think of time when the Lord was speaking and you were listening? What was your outcome? If we begin to train ourselves to recognize and receive from the Lord, our spirit is strengthened and we are given more. Will you practice listening and perceiving?  

Blessings, 🦋 Angela 

aylablue@yahoo.com