I was up this morning a little perplexed about where I am going in my life right now. So, I pick up my daily devotional, as I usually do, for some knowledge and inspiration. Opening up the book, I turn to today’s life lesson, and guess what it is called… “God Leads, We Follow”. Ok, now I’m like, this might be for me, LOL 🙂 .

It begins with quoting a few Bible verses from Acts 16, talking about how the Holy Spirit was guiding Paul on a missionary journey he was going on with Luke, Silas and Timothy.

Acts 16:6-8 [NASB] – They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.

Paul was basically trying to go and preach the gospel of Jesus to people everywhere. But, he didn’t jump on a camel or donkey 🙂 , and haphazardly pick a place on the map and travel to it. He had direction and purpose to what he was doing in life. He followed God’s direction. Which by the way isn’t easy to follow, as God doesn’t speak verbally to most people, but anyone who wants to be led by God needs to be a good listener, perceptive, intuitive, flexible, well-networked, and optimistic.

So, as Paul listened to the Holy Spirit, he received direction not to go into Asia (present-day Turkey) for whatever reason. The next verse shows that God spoke to Paul through a vision, or a dream, telling him to go to Macedonia (a country around Greece).

Acts 16:9-10 [NASB] – A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

In my life, as I pursue goals, happiness, and relationships, I want to seek out God’s direction in my life. It is important to know where He wants me to go. So the Holy Spirit may guide me to the right places, and deter me from the wrong places. I need to understand not every path that seems right, is right for me to walk through it. So, I pray for wisdom and discretion to make the best choices, and listen to the Holy Spirit for direction.