What fuels a Spirit-empowered and Spirit-led Christ-Follower is more than a plan, but we must be motivated with purpose and passion. This might sound strange, but we can focus our energy in a moment of life but not know where we are going. We must know, not only where we are going, but WHY we are going!
We see this in the life of the Apostle Paul as described in Acts 16:6-10.
“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from proclaiming 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 pressed 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 to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.”
You would have thought that if anyone had known the will of God, it would be the Apostle Paul, evidenced by his impactful life. You would assume that he always knew exactly what he should do. After all, he was the Apostle Paul! He met Jesus Christ face to face on the Damascus Road. If anyone had inside information or intimate knowledge, it would be him. Yet, we find that Paul had no idea where he was going. He tried to go to Asia, and the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let him. The Spirit of Christ would not let him go to Bythinia. He was going for the right reasons: He went to take the Lord Jesus Christ to those who had never heard His name. But he didn’t have any idea where his actual destination was.
So, he went to sleep. He was probably exhausted from trying to figure out where God wanted him to go. And while he slept, he had a dream. In that dream, a man from Macedonia called to him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” I can relate to the humor in this passage.
While he was conscious, he couldn’t understand,
God had to get him unconscious to make it clear!!
Many times, we can feel pressure to tell people things we don’t know. Being led by the Spirit is not the ability to define everything the future holds. It is the willingness to move forward when all we know is the Lord Jesus Christ.
We ought to find our direction from the compass of the purposes of Yahweh, revealed in Scripture, fueled by the passions of Almighty God. While moving we take actions toward the things we know and God clarifies and directs us as we step out. This is what Romans 12:1,2 is teaching.
We surrender as a living sacrifice, we prove the will of God with incremental steps of obedience. We don’t always know it, but we test it by our actions.
Let’s keep proving the will of God even though we don’t often understand it!
In Christ,
Dale
dale@daleebel.org