Acts 16:1-15
1Paul went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek. 2He was well spoken of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium. 3Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and had him circumcised because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4As they went from town to town, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily.
6They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; 8so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them. 11We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, 12and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. 13On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. 15When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.
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I picked this scripture because of the travelog and because it was about Paul’s second missionary journey. Years ago, while stationed in Italy, we took our most memorable vacation ever to Greece and Turkey covering much of the terrain Paul covered in his letters.
I was and am always amazed with how far Paul traveled, on foot and by sea, over some very rugged terrain ministering to people from very different backgrounds, planting all those churches. He simply went where God told him to go; not always where he wanted to go. I always wondered why he was told to skip going to ‘Phrygia and Galatia’ and the cities therein (modern day Turkey) and head straight to Macedonia (northern Greece) , but God had a purpose. The timing was not right, and Paul needed to spread the Message to another continent, Europe. He also needed to pick up a cohort in Troas name ‘Dr. Luke.’ Luke then accompanied Paul to Macedonia, and later wrote this letter. Paul would visit those other places later on his third journey.
The other part of this story I always liked is the story of Lydia, ‘Europe’s first convert.’ A dealer of ‘purple cloth,’ she was not only self-employed, but probably had others working for her. She listened to Paul and God opened her heart….only God could do that. She then had all of her household baptized and invited Paul and his team to her home. Hospitality!
God still calls us today to places we often don’t want to go to do things we don’t want to do….but if we look for His purpose, we’ll discover why we were sent there. I know from experience. When grumping about an unpleasant assignment, a young, junior Chaplain once took me aside and said, “…look God sent you here for a purpose,… You should quit grumping and find out what that purpose is, and then do it.”
So when called, Go and Do.
Prayer: Lord, help us to see your purpose in everything we are called to do, and the courage to go and do in our daily walk with You. Amen
—Dave Dynneson