It is late and my brain is going foggy, so tonight I am merely making note of two passages where the Apostle Paul was blocked from doing something he felt was God's will.
The first instance is recorded in Acts 16:6-7 - "Paul and his companions traveled 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."
But this red light is quickly followed by a green light in the form of a nighttime vision: the "man of Macedonia" begging Paul to come and help.
Paul's altered path now leads him to Philippi, where there is another miraculous prison break, and then on to Thessalonica.
And Thessalonica figures into the second relevant passage, found in the book of 1 Thessalonians. In this letter, Paul describes his great love for the church in Thessalonica - a love he might never have experienced if he had continued into Bithynia - and his great desire to return to them.
In Chapter 2, verses 17 and 18, Paul writes, "But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you - certainly I, Paul, did, again and again - but Satan blocked our way."
So in one instance, Paul's missionary travels were blocked by the Spirit of Jesus and in the other by Satan.
Curious, isn't it?
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