Acts 16:1-15
Paul and his companions are faithful!
Doing everything right …
Right on target …
Across the western half of present-day Turkey…
Preaching the gospel.
Sharing the good news.
Doing God’s will.
Planting churches.
But the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.
Road Closed!
The Holy Spirit kept Paul and his companions out of a province called Asia …
And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus stood in the way …
This far, and no further.
Road Closed!
You’ll have to turn around.
I can only imagine their thoughts.
What’s up God?
Have we done something wrong?
Did we miss a piece of the puzzle?
No answers given.
Road Closed!
Period!
Ever been there?
Of course you have!
We’ve all been there.
The school on which we had set our heart sends us the “small envelope” …
The promotion we plan on falls through …
The company we work for closes its doors …
The love of our life goes haywire, and there’s nothing we can do about it except pick up the shattered pieces.
Our Bithynia.
Road Closed!
A thousand questions play in our minds.
Why now?
Why me?
Where do I go from here?
Paul and his companions head to Troas … we’re not told why they go there … just that they do.
To collect their thoughts?
Gather their wits?
Catch their breath?
Regroup?
Now what?
What’s next?
Anyone got any bright ideas?
That night, they go to bed with a road closed.
But in the night, a vision.
A man from Macedonia, cries out to Paul, Help us. Please come and help us!
They immediately get ready and set out for Macedonia by ship, across the northern Aegean Sea …first, to the island of Samothrace, and then to Neapolis, on the northeastern edge of present-day Greece.
And from Neapolis to Philippi.
A Roman Colony.
A leading city.
On the Sabbath day, they go to the river looking for a place of prayer …
And there they find a group of women.
And Lydia, a cloth merchant.
Lydia, a worshipper of God, it says.
She’s already on her way to faith before Paul arrives.
Because God is always at work, ahead of the curve.
Long before we show up.
Lydia is a Gentile, but like many Gentiles in the Roman world, she attached herself to a local synagogue … to find meaning and purpose in the teachings of Moses and the prophets …
When Paul shares the story of Jesus with Lydia, the Holy Spirit opens her heart.
She becomes a disciple of Jesus.
She and her entire household are baptized.
And that night, Paul and his companions have a place to stay in Philippi.
A church has been planted.
And the rest is history.
Some years later, Paul writes one of his most personal notes to the folks in Philippi … the letter to the Philippians … I thank my God every time I remember you … and I know that the good work God began in you will be carried on to completion. I have a great place for you in my heart.
All because the road to Bithynia was closed.
How do we deal with life’s disappointments?
When Bithynia is taken from us.
When life closes down our road.
And we have to travel a strange road to a strange destination?
Life is a strange business.
Rarely plays out like we plan.
As the saying goes, If we want to make the gods laugh, tell ‘em our plans.
But this morning, we’re not talking about “the gods.”
We’re not talking about fate or fortune.
We’re talking about the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ.
To whom we belong, in life and in death.
In all things now, and in all things to come.
Life is not about chance or fate.
Life is all about faith.
And it’s not our faith, though our faith is important.
But it’s the faithfulness of God that counts!
When Josh was a little boy, we went to a restaurant, and when the waiter came to the table to take our order, he turned to Josh, and Josh said, “I’ll take the steak.”
The waiter said, “What size? 6 ounce, 10 ounce or 14 ounce?”
Josh didn’t think twice … didn’t ask me or check on the price.
He just said, “I want the 14 ounce.”
Not only a big appetite, but he knew his parents!
God is faithful to us.
In all the bits and pieces of life.
That’s why we have faith.
Though it be the size of a mustard.
So tiny, you can hardly see it.
But it’s not our faith on trial.
Never is.
It’s the faithfulness of God that counts.
When all the world should fail, God stands firm with love and hope.
If humankind should choose the dark way, God’s light shines all the brighter.
Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more!
We know our heavenly Father.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Paul and his friends didn’t quit at Bithynia.
They didn’t give up.
They turned around.
And kept on going.
All the way to Troas.
Over the years, I have seen Paul and his companions many times over …
Folks who’ve met crushing defeat.
Closed roads all over the place.
But they turn around and find their way to Troas.
A widow walks tearfully away from her husband’s grave and slowly picks up the pieces, one painful day at a time … she winds her way down to Troas, to fine another chance.
A man loses his job after twenty-five years.
He doesn’t have a clue, but somehow or other he has the capacity to let go of the job … to let go of the past … let go of the shame of it all, the kind of shame everyone feels when the road is closed … but the man heads to Troas … and waits … because he knows that something good is coming his way.
I have watched people turn around when the road is closed and they keep on going.
It’s an amazing thing to see.
Resilience.
Courage.
Determination.
Faith, hope and love.
They take a beating, but they’re not licked.
They’re down for awhile, but not for long.
On to Troas.
On to Troas.
We believe in tomorrow, because we believe in God!
We may be in the wilderness for a while, but there’s a Promised Land ahead.
We may be hoisted on someone’s cross, but there’s a day of resurrection coming.
The life we hoped for may be finished.
But there’s another life coming our way.
So long Bithynia.
It’s okay.
To Troas we go for something more.
I don’t think any of us let go very easily.
I think it’s hard to let go.
When Josh went off to college, we kept his voice on our answering machine for quite awhile, and I remember the day we changed it.
And that was only college.
A friend of mine left his wife’s voice on the answering machine for months after she died.
Her clothes in the closet.
Everything just as it was.
It’s hard to let go of our Bithynia.
I’m not saying it’s easy.
But it can be done.
We’re surrounded by a host of witnesses who’ve done it a thousands times for us.
And we can do it, too.
For every closed road, a choice to make.
We can sit down by Road-Closed sign.
Set up our camp there, and there we stay.
We look down that road in the morning.
We look down that road at night.
We blame ourselves.
We blame others.
We get negative and edgy.
We send out invitations to our pity party.
Folks get sick of us.
And we get sick of ourselves.
Because we’re stuck.
Stuck in time.
Trapped on the road to Bitynia.
But we can make another choice.
There’s always more to life than Bithynia.
There’s always Troas.
Troas may not be our first choice.
It may not even be our second or third choice.
It may not be what we want at all.
But what do we know?
We can walk away from Bithynia.
All the way to Troas.
And from Troas, to Philippi.
And in Philippi, down by the river, someone waiting for us.
The best is yet to come!
No matter what we’re facing.
No matter the odds.
No matter all the closed roads.
God at work.
God at work for good.
Building new roads.
When the first road is closed.
Turn around.
When the second road is closed.
Change course.
When the third road is closed.
Get out a new map.
Look straight ahead.
Dare to believe.
Think big.
Trust God.
There’s a Troas, straight ahead.
And a dream for you.
A promise.
A Philippi.
And Lydia down by the river, waiting for you.
Life anew … all over again!
Amen and Amen!
2 comments:
Well you know that twice I found the road to my heart's desire closed, and you know how painful it was, and how I raged against the barricades keeping me from going forward. And at the end of it, literally and figuratively, Lydia was waiting. What a good, good reminder for all the closed roads I am sure to face in the future.
Becki,
Lydia waiting ... indeed.
And I guess there will be others, as well ...
God's Peace ...
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