6Paul and his friends went through Phrygia and Galatia, but the Holy Spirit would not let them preach in Asia. 7After they arrived in Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let them. 8So they went on through Mysia until they came to Troas. 9During the night, Paul had a vision of someone from Macedonia who was standing there and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!" 10After Paul had seen the vision, we began looking for a way to go to Macedonia. We were sure that God had called us to preach the good news there.
I didn't take my assignment to Oslo, Norway in 1988. It was the only thing on my wish list. When we found out we would have had to board our oldest son in England, we turned it down (I know, missionaries do it all the time). That broke my heart...Mali's as well. I've been prevented from doing other things...but that might make me the most wistful.
I don't remember thinking "the Holy Spirit would not let me". There are two things wrong with this spiritual lapse: First, it prevented me from recognizing the truth about the event. Second, it altered my response to the disappointment.
The truth about the event...and all other events in the life of a believer...is that God would not let me. The reason doesn't really matter. Of course, I didn't recognize that truth. I thought the Air Force had ruined my dream. And believe me...San Angelo (my resulting assignment) was not Macedonia! We don't regret putting our son first, but my earthly perspective allowed me to be distracted into thinking in terms of earthly solutions.
My response was less that great. I was frustrated with myself for not simply "sucking it up" going to Oslo anyway. I was disappointed with Mali for not being stronger. I was irritated with Erik for being the wrong age. None of this reaction would have transpired if I simply would have had Paul's insight..."the Holy Spirit would not let me".
What disappointments are we facing today? What troubles are we trying to overcome? I promise you, our ability to respond appropriately is directly related to our ability to recognize God's role in our lives. In Paul's case, he basically shrugged and moved on to his next objective. This is a heavenly focus that results in heavenly solutions. It's the same Holy Spirit today...
Live boldly out there today...
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