It’s all backwards sometimes. Knowing the will of God for preaching is often a strange and particular journey. Yes, sometimes his will is so very clear. Do not murder. Alright then, I won’t intentionally kill anyone. Give to the poor. Alright then, I will make sure my elderly neighbor has enough to eat.
And then there are the times when it is not so clear, when we thought we were going the right way, when we were just sure that that was the voice of God. Brick wall, high wire fence, dark night. “I thought I heard the Lord rightly. I really, really thought I did.”
Were Paul and his companions thinking this way as they journeyed through Phrygia and Galatia, our modern-day Turkey? In Acts 16:6-10 we find a most unusual sequence of events that bring us up short. Who put that brick wall there? Was it Satan? Was it spiritual forces in the heavenly realms? Weren’t the apostles doing the will of God by preaching Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected?
As we read this text we don’t see Legion jumping out from behind gravestones interrupting their mission. Nor do we see Pharisees manipulating a judicial system to have them indicted. Nor do we see infighting and struggles with pride. What we see in Acts 16:6-9 is remarkable and distressing.
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. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." (NIV)
These men of God were seasoned missionaries at this point, ready and willing to lay down their lives for the Gospel. And indeed they had many times already. Their mission had already launched well beyond the boundaries of Jerusalem and Judea and they were driving full throttle into the uttermost parts of the earth. The words and will of Jesus were ringing in their ears—Go! and Go! And yet, here we find No! and No!
The so-called Great Commission is a compelling force. People must know who Christ is and what He has done for them. Right? Why then would the Holy Spirit—even the Holy Spirit—keep anyone from preaching the Word? Prevention builds a massive brick wall—it means to keep from happening; to impede; to counter in advance. In a significantly non-Lukan way, Luke seems to skip the details of which he is so fond. Did they all get laryngitis? There is no indication that they were thrown in jail here—but that never stopped them from preaching anyway. Would people just ignore them? It doesn’t seem that Paul and his companions were ready to shake the dust off their feet and depart. There is little here about the logistics of this full stop, but one fact remains—they were prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching. Distressing, isn’t it? It seems entirely counter to the will of God.
That was not the end of it there. They went to cross the Bythinian border and there they hit something like a high wire fence. Was this a line of armed border patrol and rows of tanks roaring over the dusty roads with the thumb of Satan in their backs? No, this obstruction was the Spirit of Jesus himself. And again Luke is cryptic in his description. Jesus stopped them. Distressing?
We might wish that there was some great psychological drama played out here. We might wish to see the dialog, the spiritual angst, the wrestling in prayer as in the garden—if there was any. But again one fact remains—Do not preach here.
An incident from the life of Daniel taps on the window. The great man of prayer and prophet to the nations had been doing exactly as he had been told, and more than that had stayed in constant prayer specifically for God’s desolate city and sanctuary (9:17). Read Daniel’s account in 9:20-23.
While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill--while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed . . .”
Daniel’s understanding was limited. His practice of prayer was not, but his comprehension of the God’s will and timing were. Gabriel let him in on some of the practices of God. Here is what Daniel was taught about how God can operate his will: he hears our prayers the moment they are uttered; he answers our prayers decisively and specifically; and sometimes he uses delayed messengers to relay his will that has already been put into action.
In the dark night, in the deep black of night, God, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, also gave Paul a very distinct vision. A man from across the water was pleading for the Gospel to be preached. He was begging for the Word. The Macedonians were hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Without judgment on the people of the region they were in presently, without focusing on the brick walls, high wire fences or the thick dark of night, the missionary band responded immediately to the now known perfect will of God for preaching. In verse 10 we read, “After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (NIV. Emphasis added.)
The Macedonians were ready for Jesus.
Isn’t the will of God always perfectly clear, especially when we are to preach the Gospel? Do we just launch ourselves willy-nilly into environments and relationships that certainly we feel need to hear the Gospel right now? Do we hold to our self-determined plans about who should be next? Do we cling to the strategies we have become convinced are God’s when in fact they are not? How do we know when and where to extend the Gospel? Sometimes it will be very clear. Other times it may not. At these times perhaps it is more important for us to simply be ready to go at once when the brick walls, high wire fences and dark nights are no longer barriers but guides to God’s good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Amen
© M.R.Hyde 2026
