And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
We make plans and we act on how we think we can best serve the Lord, yet, it is God who is in control. Paul is recounting how they sought to go to Asia, but the Holy Spirit redirected them. They tried to go to Bithynia, but Jesus’ Spirit had different plans. They went down to Troas, and it was there, though they may have been tempted to feel like failures because their plans were not working out, it was THERE God revealed His plans for them. You are not a failure! That’s impossible. You may fail at YOUR PLANS, but yours are not the plans that count, it’s God’s. You’re right where He knew you would be, poised to be used according to His plans. This is also where Luke joins the team (notice “they went” then “we sought to go”). If Paul’s plans had panned out, we might not have ever had the book of Acts written by Luke (probably Paul’s cousin).
