Lesson 28: God's Sovereignty Steers Us into a New Direction

Acts 16:6-10 - "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."

Paul and his companions intended to preach the gospel to a certain area, but the Spirit of the Lord kept them from doing so. Why? Was that not a good thing to do? As Paul found out later, even though it may have been a good idea at the time, it was not God's time. So God steered Paul into the direction He wanted Paul to go. God allows resistance to come our way so that we too, like Paul, get steered into the right direction. But we have a problem. We all say that we want to know and follow God's will but when His plans do not line up to our plans, we start to rebel. Once we do that, we not only go down roads that are harmful for us, but we miss out on the fruitful ministry the Lord has designed for us in the new direction.

Out of His mercy God orchestrates a few difficulties from which we rapidly learn that we can either follow our own plan and experience nothing but pain, or we can submit to God's plan and trust that He indeed knows what is best for us. This is the same choice that Paul had to make. And what was his response? He knew that God in His sovereignty was in full control and therefore God had a good reason for changing the direction.


God wants us to see that trouble is only opportunity in work clothes! Sometimes God allows difficulties to get us steered into a new and better direction to receive a new and better opportunity! When we resist God's leading, we are not only missing out on some grand opportunities, but we are headed down a destructive road. When we resist God's plan for our life, we in essence say we know what is best for us, not God! That is one path that leads to a life of heartaches.

There are countless testimonies from people who have suffered loss of job or health or countless other things, but through the loss were guided into other places or ministries or events where they served God in ways they could never have imagined before. All these testimonies end with thankfulness to God for what He allowed into their lives to direct them into not only that service to Him, but also a deeper relationship with Jesus as a result. Even though you may not see it now, the difficulty you may be experiencing today, may very well turn out to be the very best thing that ever happened to you because God is Sovereign!

* Memorize Acts 1:8 - “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”