Devotional Acts 16: How to Know God’s Will in Your Life Discover in Acts 16 how the Holy Spirit directs our steps, stops our wrong plans, and responds with power when we praise Him in adversity. Topics: Devotional, New Testament.

Devotional Acts 16: How to Know God’s Will in Your Life

The devotional for today is found in the book of Acts, chapter 16 and this is what happened.

Synopsis: in this chapter, Paul takes with him Timothy, who was recommended by the Christian brothers of the region of Lystra and Derbe, as a companion, on his second missionary mission. And wherever they went, they shared with the brothers the decisions made by the apostles and elders of Jerusalem. So that they would observe the commandments of Jesus and strengthen their faith in Christ and God. While traveling from town to town, they tried to go to Asia to spread the gospel. But the Holy Spirit did not allow them to do so and they ended up spending the night in Troas. And it was in Troas that Paul had the vision of a man from Macedonia begging him to go over there and help them. With this vision, Paul was convinced that God wanted them to go and spread the Good News to the Macedonians. Therefore, they went to Philippi, a Roman colony and the main city of the district of Macedonia. On Saturday, while looking for a place to pray, in the vicinity of the city, they talked with the women they found there. One of these women was Lydia, a woman who fears God, whose Holy Spirit had opened her heart to accept the teachings of Paul. After the conversation, she invited them to stay at her house if they, really, consider her a believer in God. However, while they were looking for a place to pray, a prophetess possessed by an evil spirit announced to the others that they were spreading the Word of God and the way of salvation. But this happened for several days. So Paul got annoyed and asked the spirit to leave his body and at that moment the spirit left. However, as soon as the owners of the young woman discovered that she could no longer prophesy because of Paul and Silas, they took them to the magistrates to be sentenced for influencing the people to practice customs that are forbidden to Romans. Because of this, Paul and Silas were whipped and imprisoned in the dungeon by a jailer with instructions to keep them under maximum security. However, Paul and Silas prayed and praised God at night until the Lord manifested himself and there was an earthquake and the doors of the cells opened. The jailer, full of fear, fell at the feet of Paul and Silas and asked for their forgiveness and asked how to achieve salvation. Paul and Silas told him that he must accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Having said this, the jailer took them to his house and cleaned their wounds. Paul and Silas baptized him and his family in Jesus. Afterwards, the magistrates told them to release them. But Paul and Silas did not agree to leave without being escorted to the exit of the city, asking for apologies because they were Roman citizens. Finally, they stayed at Lydia’s house for a while and then left the city.

Observations

These were my observations.

1. Choose brothers who fear God to help us do God’s will. In this chapter, Paul also ends up recruiting Timothy to accompany them on the missionary journey at the recommendation of other brothers in the region. For Timothy’s conduct was faithful to God (Acts 16:2–3 NIV). Sometimes, when we are going to do God’s will, we think of choosing someone who can make our lives and mission easier from a material point of view (e.g., open doors to site X, introduce us to person Y, finance mission Z, etc.). But God does not want us to choose the people who will help us serve Him according to worldly criteria. God wants people who have a faithful heart and fear Him (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV). Therefore, we must be very careful about this so as not to fall into traps and sabotage our own mission.
2. God will not allow what we want to happen if it is not His Will. Frequently, we do things according to our own will. Because we want to achieve this goal, reach this social position, get this job, create this business, travel to this country, etc., but this desire does not coincide with God’s Will and our purpose on earth. This is what happened to Paul and his companions when they were going to Asia. For the more they tried, the more the Spirit of God manifested against them (Acts 16:6–7 NIV). This serves as a lesson for us to always be sensitive to God’s signs so that we do not repeatedly do things He does not want us to do and waste time in vain out of stubbornness.
3. God will show us what His plan is for us. Just as He will not facilitate or bless what He does not want us to do, He will show us what we should do. We just need to be sensitive to His signs. This is what happened to Paul while he was spending the night in Troas, as he had a vision from God (Acts 16:8–10 NIV).
4. When we have not yet finished our purpose according to God, not even the enemy can stop us as long as we persevere in faith. For despite Paul and Silas being imprisoned in the dungeon, under maximum security, not even the enemy’s plans prevailed against God’s Will. For when they began to pray to God for prayer and praise, God manifested himself and rescued them (Acts 16:19–26 NIV). This is proof that God is always present and listening to our prayers. He is simply waiting for our supplications. Not because He needs them, but because we need Him for everything in our lives. Therefore, when we are going through a situation of affliction and great tribulation, we must always be encouraged, for God has overcome the world (John 16:33 NIV). Then, ask God for His help, for He is willing and waiting for our request to intervene (Matthew 7:7–11 NIV).