Pause and Pray
Press the play button to watch the video above or press 'more' to read the transcript of the daily devotion below. Please read Acts 16:6-15(use your own Bible or use the link above to access the in-App Bible).
Have you ever seen the TV programme Race Across the World? The basic premise is that pairs of people compete to be the first get from point A to point B with a limited budget. Last year the celebrity version of the show took place in Central America and some of the journeys were quite dangerous: sometimes they couldn’t travel at night or they would be on a bus that was stopped because of road blocks and patrols and they had to find alternative ways of getting to their destination.
In our Bible reading today, Paul is trying to get the Good News of Jesus out to as many people as possible. We reach a point in the journey where Paul is wanting to travel to Asia Minor – or northern Turkey as we know it today. He is frustrated at every turn because he is being prevented from entering that area by the Holy Spirit. Quite how the Holy Spirit prevents them is not clear, perhaps they too were stopped by road blocks and danger. Instead, as he rests and regroups, Paul gets a clear message in a vision of where he needs to be: to travel further north west to Macedonia. It is there that Paul’s ministry takes off once again and he is able to share the Good News of Christ, leading to the formation of the church in Phillipi.
There are times in our lives where we can feel stuck and frustrated. Where our plans and journey with God is not going the way we want it to and it seems like the Holy Spirit is preventing us from taking a certain course of action. During those times it’s tempting to force through or even just give up. Instead, we need to take the example of Paul and regroup. If we pray and listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling us, we too may find that the path opens up to us in new and exciting ways.
Let us pray: Lord, send your Holy Spirit to guide me so I may always do your good and perfect will. Amen