6 Mar 2023
He knows better
"Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.
So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them."
(Acts 16.6-10 NIV)
"The Holy Spirit", "the Spirit of Jesus", and then "a vision". Any of those does not happen frequently. And all three of them in succession? Rare indeed.
Paul and his companions were close to God. And they knew how to do missions. But they still were wrong about God's will. At the moment, God did not want them to preach the word where they planned to. They went to plan B and they were blocked again.
Why didn't Paul get a vision for Macedonia in the first place? That would have been more efficient. We do not know the details for this reason.
Suffice to say, God wanted them to go through this process.
I also go through this process from time to time.
Plan A. No.
Plan B. No.
How many plans do I need to try? Don't know. Just keep praying, keep listening to God, and keep trying. He knows better.
~
Related: Be flexible