Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, after they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas (Acts 16:6-8).
The above passage describes something that seems a bit strange, even contradictory to Scripture at first.
Paul, Silas, and Timothy had concluded their ministry work in the Phrygian and Galatian region and were ready to begin evangelizing in Asia Minor, but the Holy Spirit forbid them from doing so.
Wait a second. Didn’t Jesus tell the disciples in the Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel? (Matthew 28:19-20)
Didn’t He tell them that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth? (Acts 1:8)
Of course He did. The instructions seemed clear enough: Preach the gospel and make disciples wherever you go.
Why then do we find Paul and his mission team, who are seemingly intent on doing just that in the Asia Minor region, being prevented from doing so by the Holy Spirit?
What’s going on? Is the Holy Spirit at odds with Christ’s clear commands?
Of course not. God had a plan, and we have the benefit of hindsight, and we can study this account and understand what God was up to.
But, if we put ourselves in the shoes of Paul, Silas, and Timothy, we can imagine how confusing this might have seemed.
Paul, satisfied with their work in the Galatian region, was ready to begin moving into regions not yet reached with the gospel.
But God said “No!” Or at least He said “No” to where Paul wanted to go.
One interesting, but sometimes overlooked, aspect of the Lord’s guidance in this situation was the fact that Paul and his mission partners received only a negative command, but no positive.
In other words, they got a “no,” but they didn’t get a “go.”
All they knew clearly was that the Holy Spirit didn’t want them preaching in Asia Minor at this time.
They knew what they were not supposed to do, but they didn’t know what they were supposed to do.
When one reads the text that may not seem like that big of a deal. In fact, reading the text alone makes it seem as though they quickly received follow-up instructions.
Clear instructions did come, but they certainly didn’t come quickly.
A quick glance at a map detailing Paul’s second missionary journey reveals that from the boundaries of the Galatian region to Mysia, (their next stop) was well over two hundred miles.
That meant somewhere between a 10-to-20 day trip where the only instruction they had from the Holy Spirit was not to preach.
Talk about walking by faith!
Can you imagine the thoughts and questions from Silas and Timothy?
These two men left everything behind to follow this missionary trailblazer to spread the gospel abroad.
Because they knew what happened on the first missionary trip, I feel confident they were prepared to see the same type of things happen the second time around.
I’m sure they were expecting to see souls coming to the Lord left and right and were excited about such prospects.
I’m sure they were expecting to leave a trail of newly planted and established churches behind them as they moved from one location to the next.
I’m sure they had a realistic view of the potential dangers they faced – great opposition, being run out of towns, and even possible attacks on their lives.
Perhaps Silas and Timothy even whispered to each other: “This is not what we signed up for. Where’s the preaching? Where are the conversions? What are we doing?”
Perhaps they even got up the nerve to ask Paul a time or two: “Paul, what’s going on?”
As they traveled for a few days with absolutely no activity or mission work, maybe they began to ask: “When, Paul, are we going to share the gospel?”
Days and days went by with no word from the Lord about what to do, and maybe even Paul, as great as his faith was, began to wonder, “Why the restraint from preaching the gospel? Why the silence from God?”
Finally, they arrived at Mysia, and finally, they heard from the Lord again.
But guess what they heard.
They heard another “no.”
Once at Mysia, in terms of where to go, their options were running out.
So, still with no word from the Lord, Paul made what he thought was the most logical decision, which was to go to the unreached people of Bithynia.
Yet, “the Spirit suffered them not” (Act 16:7).
Can you imagine the frustration?
They had been travelling for days with no real direction and no certainty about what to do, and when God finally did speak again, it was simply another “no.”
As I mentioned earlier, God had a plan, and once they arrived at Troas, God made that plan clear. But they didn’t know that at the time.
In fact, Troas was another 100 miles or so west, so there would be several more days of silence and uncertainty.
This is a picture of the Lord leading his servants, not by a series of open doors, but a series of closed doors instead.
How many of us like to be led that way?
We like the open doors. We want to see the open doors with the flashing lights that say, “Go this way.”
And in His mercy and grace, sometimes God works that way.
But more often than not, as we follow the Lord, we’ll face a number of closed doors, ultimately leading us to where God wants us to be.
Despite the uncertainty and silence, Paul, Silas, and Timothy, demonstrate what it means to walk by faith. It illustrates what it’s like to walk with God when all we have is silence, or “no,” or “not yet.” This is what it’s like to walk with God when the way He’s leading makes no sense at all.
The Holy Spirit is always leading us; He just doesn’t always lead us the way we envision it or prefer.
Campbell Morgan said,
“Here is the revelation of the fact that the Spirit guides, not by flaming visions always, not by words articulate in human ears; but by circumstances, by commonplace things, by difficult things, by dark things, by disappointing things. The Spirit guides and moulds and fashions all the pathway.”
We all have upsets, failures, disappointments, and setbacks in life but do we ever stop to consider in the midst of those things, that maybe the Holy Spirit is attempting to get our attention and lead us?
Do we ever stop to ask, “God, what are you trying to show me? Where are you trying to lead me?”
We should be looking for what the Holy Spirit is doing, not just in the obvious times, but in all things.
Morgan said,
“If we make up our minds that the way of guidance is the way of flaming vision, and rolling thunder, and an articulate voice, and a lifting to a height of ecstasy, then we may never be guided. But if we are watching for Him, we shall find Him guiding us in the day of difficulty and the day of disappointment, and the day of darkness; when it seems as though the rhythmic and majestic flow of the river has ceased, and we are in cross currents, and are tempest-tossed.
“What we need then is confidence in the guidance of the Spirit in the hours when no voice is heard, and no vision is seen. If we will follow then, the hour of vindication will come...”
