Waist Deep 2018 - September 30


Acts 16: 6–10 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region . . . having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. . . . they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they . . . went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia . . . begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” . . . we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach . . . to them. (NIV)


God is in charge of leadership, the destination, and the way church growth occurs.*


The people in the province of Asia, and in Bithynia and Troas, needed to hear the gospel as much as the people of Macedonia. There was no earthly reason for Paul and his team not to go to any of those places. But the doors to these mission fields were closed to them. Their “Macedonian Call” meant that they would trade one fertile field for another.

Modern missionaries sometimes have similar experiences. They have committed themselves to serving the Lord in a particular field, they walk through the doors that are open to them – and find themselves in a closet – a dead end. Perhaps God is only testing their commitment. Perhaps circumstances have changed during their preparation and God needs them elsewhere. Whatever the reason, God’s servants go where his Spirit leads them. And we, their brothers and sisters, should be careful about judging them for their decisions!


Collections of apparently random events set us on paths we never would have imagined.*


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