God moves in mysterious ways
Many of these opening articles on Philippians have been pretty heavy reading, so I want to end things today by posting a little note on one of the most wonderful story lines in Acts - the way by which God directed Paul to Philippi.
If you have a Bible with a good map, I encourage you to dig it out as it will make things a little more clear to you. Do you have your map? Good. Now if you take a look at the map and compare it with Acts 15 and the early part of Acts 16, you will notice that Paul is travelling from east to west - Jerusalem (15:4), Antioch (15:30), Derbe and Lystra (16:1), Iconium (16:2), etc.
By the time we get to Acts 16:6, we find Paul in the region of Galatia. He has come from the west and he wants to go south into Asia to preach the gospel, but the Holy Spirit forbids him to preach in Asia (16:6)! Well, since he can’t go south, Paul decides to go north into Bithynia (16:7), but again the Holy Spirit will not allow him to go there!
Paul is running out of options. He has come from the east. The Spirit of God won’t let him go north or south! That means that the only direction left is west – so Paul heads for Troas.
While waiting at Troas he receives a vision telling him to come to Macedonia to help. As far as we know, Paul had never benn to Europe before, but nevertheless he was “immediately” obedient to the call. Travelling through Neapolis, Paul arrived at Philippi where he waited for several days.
It seems that in Philippi there was a group of Godly women who gathered at the riverside to pray each week. (I can’t help but wonder if Paul’s vision in Troas was directly linked to their prayers!) On the sabbath, Paul and the others went down to the riverside and preached the gospel and to them and Lydia was saved.
By the way, where was Lydia from? “Thyatira” (16:14). And where is Thyatira? It’s in Asia! The very place where Paul wanted to go in the first place, but the Spirit forbade him (16:6).
What unplanned detours has God brought into your life this year? Have you been before Him on your knees seeking to learn His purpose in them? Remember, His ways are not our ways!
This article is part of the “Fridays in Philippians” series of synchroblogs.
