Roadblocks

“Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route.” (Acts 16:6 MSG)

The Apostle Paul and his friends had made plans for their next missionary journey. However, their path was blocked by the Holy Spirit. They tried another route; that,too, was blocked. Then Paul had a dream in which he was instructed to go in a completely different direction than he originally intended.

Whenever I am at a major crossroad in life, I pray for guidance. Often I hear nothing. After a period of waiting, I tentatively make a choice. I start moving in the direction that seems most logical; I ask God to put up roadblocks if I am going the wrong way.

This method of seeking God’s will may seem righteous, but it has its own pitfalls. No matter what path you take, there will be some difficulties that make you wonder if you are going the wrong way. Not every adversity is a Holy Spirit roadblock. Some are speed bumps that slow us down; others are stop signs that require us to refocus our attention, look both ways, and proceed with caution.

If a road is impassable,  there will usually be a detour sign for us to follow. The new route might be inconvenient and circuitous; we may feel tempted to take our chances and continue with our original plans. If we diverge from God’s guidance and go our own way, we are heading towards danger. We are no longer tuned in to the Holy Spirit; we are relying on our own instincts and experience. It’s just a matter of time before we find ourselves stuck in the mud of iniquity, in the quicksand of delusion.