JULY 1

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES:

DAILY LOAD ME WITH BENEFITS…Ps 68:19

DAILY BEAR MY BURDENS……..PS 68:19

DAILY BEAR ME UP IN YOUR ARMS…..PS 68:19

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This month we will read the book, “Whatever Happens – How to Stand Firm in Your Faith When the World is Falling Apart.”  By a contemporary author of many best-selling Christian books, Robert J. Morgan.  He took care of his wife when she had MS, until she went home to her Savior.  “He knows of which he speaks.”  His style is much different from Andrew Murray, in the book we just finished.    I pray that this book blesses you also.

I grew up in Carter County, Tennessee, and I still have a home alongside the Appalachian Trail at the base of Roan Mountain, which, at its highest ridge, towers 6,200 feet above sea level.  There’s speculation about how the Roan got its name.  A likely explanation comes from its rhododendron bushes.  On its heights grow the largest natural rhododendron gardens on earth.

But my father, who grew up there, told me the Roan was named for Daniel Boone’s horse.  Boone was exploring the area on a roan-patterned horse in the late 1700’s or early 1800’s when the horse became lame.  Leaving it there, Boone lost his bearings as he explored the dense terrain on foot.

A year later, Boone visited again and found his horse fat and sleek.  He named the mountain for the horse – Roan.  Later when asked if he had really gotten lost, Boone replied, “I can’t say as ever I was lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.”

As I look over my life with its mountains and valleys and summers and winters, I can say I’ve never totally  lost my way, but I’ve often been bewildered.  The paths were not as clear as I expected, and I faced more closed doors than open ones.

The apostle Paul could say the same.  He encountered a lot of closed doors, especially on his second missionary journey. Notice the words I’ve italicized (capital letters here)  in Acts 16:6-8:

“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phyrgia 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.”

Sir William Ramsey, who studied the life of Paul for decades and became a foremost scholar on his travels, said, “This is in many respects the most remarkable paragraph in Acts.”

As Paul, Silas, and Timothy pressed east to west across the great expanse of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), every door was closed to them, every option forbidden, every opportunity denied.  God had sent them on a mission, then closed the doors.

This was perplexing for Paul.  There he was, prepared, eager, and on a mission to preach among people who needed the gospel, but the Holy spirit said, “don’t do it.”

Finally they went as far as they could, to the eastern port of Troas.  The total distance from their point of origin in Antioch of Syria to Troas, which is on the Aegean Sea, is over a thousand miles.  Paul and his companions were trying to follow God’s will, but they found one door closed after another for a thousand miles.

Have you ever felt that way? 

Things finally changed in Troas.  Look at what happened in verses 9 & 10:

“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.”

As we read this story in Acts 16, we notice a subtle change in the wording.  The author of Acts, the beloved physician Luke, showed up and the narrative changed from “they” to “we”.  Starting at this point in the story, Luke included himself in the events.  “After Paul had seen the vision,” he said, “WE got ready at once to leave for Macedonia.”

Maybe when he awoke the next morning, Paul took a walk around Troas and suddenly spotted the man from his dream.  Approaching him, Paul asked, “Who are you?  I dreamed about you last night.”

“My name is Luke.  I’m from the medical school in Philippi.”

“Are you a Jesus follower?”

“Yes, and I’ve been praying for a missionary to come to our region and help us.”

“Then let’s go” said Paul with a smile.”

I can’t prove Luke was the Macedonian man in Paul’s dream, but it stands to reason since they showed up together in the text at exactly the same time.  In any case, after hundreds of miles of closed doors, the Lord at least opened the right one.  In this way He gave Paul, Silas, and Timothy the Macedonian call, added a helper named Luke, and sent them with the gospel westward into Europe rather than eastward into Asia.

That changed the entire sweep of Christian history – of world history.  And the Lord did it using many closed doors and a single open one!

Here is a life lesson for all of us.  The Lord closes far more doors for us than He opens, for there are thousands of things He does NOT want us to do – but only a few things that He DOES want us to do.  We have to bypass all the closed doors by faith until we come to the one God is preparing to open for us.  We cannot let doors discourage us, for God is in the details.

So God sent Paul to Europe, and his first stop was the city of Philippi.  This story has taught me four things about seeking and finding the will of God.

(coming tomorrow)

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