When God Changes Your Plans

In January 1936, songwriter B.B. McKinney was leading the music at the Alabama Sunday school Convention.

The featured speaker was R.S. Jones, who was McKinney’s friend for many years.

Mr. Jones was a missionary who served in Brazil, but because of health issues had to return home to the states.

The two men were visiting over dinner one evening when Mr. Jones revealed to B.B. McKinney that his physicians wouldn’t let him to return to South America.

When asked about his future plans the missionary said, “I don’t know, but wherever He leads I’ll go.”

Those words stuck in McKinney’s mind and before the convention’s evening session began, he had written both the words and the music to a new song.

At the close of Jones’ message, B.B. McKinney related this story and sang, “Wherever He Leads, I’ll Go,” to the congregation.

I’m wondering if that’s our heart today? To go where He calls for us to go and to do what He calls for us to do?

“Take up your cross and follow Me, I heard my Master say,

‘I gave My life to ransom you, surrender your all today.”

Wherever He leads I’ll go, wherever He leads I’ll go,

I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so, wherever He leads I’ll go.

God calls His people to serve Him and He leads us and guides us into His will and into His work.

Paul, Silas, and Timothy left Lystra on the 2nd missionary journey.

They set out to do the work of God and be in the will of God.

We should always be willing to go, sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and obedient to His leading.

This morning I want to challenge us to go where the Lord leads, do what the Lord leads, and be obedient to His leading.

These five verses we’ll be looking at this morning give us some details about the work of the Lord in His servants and the will of the Lord for His servants.

Let’s take a look: Acts 16:6-10.

Now let’s see what these missionaries’ experience could mean to us.

In verses 6-7 we see that Paul and his team were eager to spread the gospel and willing to go wherever God called them.

How can we be just as effective for God? First…

Be Willing to Go (6-7)

Luke tells us about the travels of the missionaries. At the start of the missionary journey Paul and Silas came to Derbe and then went into Lystra.

There in Lystra they found a young man named Timothy who was a man of God and Paul recruited Timothy for the missionary work.

From Lystra and Iconium the missionary team traveled through the cities delivering the decrees to the churches that they needed to keep.

The Bible tells us the results of their work: the churches were strengthened in their faith and sinners were saved by faith.

The churches increased in number daily!

The 2nd missionary journey was off to a blazing start.

Momentum was built,

God was at work,

souls were being saved,

and the people were being strengthened.

What more could a missionary ask for?

Luke gives a report of the continued work of the missionaries and the sovereign leading of God over His workers.

Luke tells us that when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia that they ran into Divine opposition.

They found suddenly a door was closed to them.

Warren Wiersbe wrote, “It is comforting to know that even apostles were not always clear as to God’s will for their ministries!”

Look at verse 6.

Luke tells us that the missionary team was forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. Not the continent of Asia you’re probably thinking about. It’s the Roman province of Asia. Part of what is now modern-day Turkey.

Forbidden: koluo, ko-loo’-o; to stop, i.e. prevent (by word or act)- forbid, hinder, keep from, withstand.

Who stopped them? Not the enemy. Not the Romans. But the Holy Spirit.

The missionaries were under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the direction of the Holy Spirit. They would go wherever He leads and do whatever He leads them to do.

The Lord didn’t want them to go and preach in Asia because He had another place and another people where He was at work.

Notice the Holy Spirit didn’t forbid them to share the gospel. Just not where they had planned on going.

We don’t fully understand why they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to go preach the word in Asia, but we do know that the Lord has a plan for them to take the gospel into Europe.

But I find it a little interesting the Holy Spirit didn’t tell them where to go at this point.

Do you ever wonder, “I don’t know what we need to do. We just need to do something different?”

I mean, they knew what not to do. They just didn’t know what to do.

Go where? All it takes to begin is be willing. This may seem backward, but we don’t have to always know where we’re going, or how we’ll do it before we get started.

What do we learn from Paul and his missionary team? Just go somewhere.

So that’s what they did. They didn’t get discouraged. They didn’t turn back. They pressed on. God just had a divine detour scheduled for them.

Verse 7

So they kept moving.

They came from Mysia and tried to go north toward Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit did not allow it.

They again ran into a divinely closed door.

In verse 7, many of the Greek manuscripts read, “the Spirit of Jesus” did not permit them.

Permit: (KJV: Suffer) eao, eh-ah’-o; to let be, i.e. permit or leave alone, commit, leave, let (alone).

Bithynia was not where God wanted them. You see? Again, not what or where, just not this.

So they pressed on—there may have been questions as to what the Lord was doing, but their questions did not stop their mission.

I read the story about a young woman who had prepared for missionary service on foreign fields.

She had been appointed by the mission board and was ready to sail when she received a telegram saying that her sister had died in a western state.

She cancelled her reservation and went home.

The sister, whose husband had previously died, left four little children and since there was no one to care for them, this young woman had to stay with them.

Her heart was broken. She had dreamed of being a missionary and now she would never have a chance to go out for the Lord.

However, she submitted to the Lord’s will and did the best she could for the children.

As they grew up, one by one they came to her saying, ‘Aunt, I feel that God wants me to be a missionary.”

So instead of one person going out as a missionary, because of her faithfulness to God and His call, four went out.

She came to see, after all, that God’s way was the best way.”

They pressed on and passing by Mysia they came down to Troas.

G. Campbell Morgan said, “It is better to go to Troas with God, than anywhere else without Him.”

The missionaries, by the will of God, ended up in Troas where they would receive divine direction about their next phase of missionary work.

What does this mean for us?

Action Step:

It means, Embrace a mindset of willingness. This means being ready to change direction when God calls. It’s about holding your plans loosely and trusting that God’s plans are better.

Challenge:

This week, ask yourself, “Where is God calling me to go?” It might be a physical place, like a new job or city. Or it might be something less tangible, like a new ministry or helping a neighbor. Pray for the courage to be willing to go wherever God leads, even if it means letting go of your own plans.

It’s about trusting that when God redirects us, He’s leading us to something better. Paul’s journey reminds us that willingness is the first step to experiencing God’s greater plan for our lives.

Now that we’ve seen the importance of being willing to go, let’s talk about the next step: being sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance in our journey.

Be Sensitive to the Holy Spirit (8)

After being blocked from entering Bithynia, Paul and his team didn’t stop; they kept moving. They passed by Mysia and went to Troas, always listening for the Spirit’s direction. They were sensitive to the Holy Spirit, tuning in to His guidance even when it meant changing their route.

Think about a GPS. When you’re driving, sometimes you miss a turn or a road is closed. The GPS doesn’t just give up; it recalculates and finds a new route. The Holy Spirit is like our spiritual GPS, guiding us to the best path, even if it’s different from what we planned.

As we look to minister the gospel here at home and abroad we need to seek the will of God for what ministries we need to be involved in.

We don’t need to do something just because we’ve always done it!

And we shouldn’t not do something just because we haven’t done it before.

We better make sure we get divine direction for the work we do.

The Bible tells us that the Lord is sovereign over the places we work.

Action Step: Develop sensitivity to the Holy Spirit through daily practices. Spend time in prayer and quiet reflection, asking God to help you hear His voice. Make it a habit to seek His guidance before making decisions, big or small.

Challenge: Set aside time each day to listen for God’s voice. It might be in the early morning or late at night, but find a quiet moment to ask, “Holy Spirit, what are You leading me to do today?” Pay attention to those nudges and promptings in your heart.

Paul’s journey to Troas shows us the importance of this sensitivity. It’s about making space in our busy lives to listen and respond to God’s direction.

Now that we’ve learned the importance of being sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, let’s move on to the final step: being obedient to His leading, even when it requires immediate action.

Be Obedient to His Leading (9-10)

Now, Paul receives a clear vision from God—a man from Macedonia asking for help.

Vision: horama, hor’-am-ah; something gazed at, i.e. a spectacle (especially supernatural) sight, vision.

God through this vision would direct His servant.

He led them through closed doors and the resisting by the Holy Spirit, but He would also lead them by a vision given to the apostle Paul.

God will not leave His servants in the dark.

We walk in the light just as He is in the light

and we can discern the will of God and do the work of God.

What was the content of the vision?

Luke tells us that what Paul saw in the vision. He saw a man from Macedonia.

Thus God was calling the missionaries to Macedonia.

The vision contained a man from Macedonia with a message. God was communicating His will for the missionaries through the vision of the man from Macedonia.

When we are seeking to do the will of God He will show us through His word, through circumstances, by His Spirit.

Luke emphasizes here where the man came from.

And the man had a message.

The man made an urgent plea to Paul.

Pleaded: (KJV: Prayed; NASB: appealed) parakaleo, par-ak-al-eh’-o; to call near, i.e. invite, invoke, beseech, call for, entreat.

This was an urgent message from the man. He was calling for help.

Those who do not know Jesus Christ definitely need help.

So how did they respond?

Verse 10

Luke tells us that after Paul had seen the vision that the team immediately made plans to go to Macedonia.

After Paul saw the vision he communicated that to the missionaries and the team got up, got their stuff, and set out for Macedonia.

They responded immediately to the call of God, to the will of God, for the work of God.

How do we respond when God opens a door for us? What do we do about the work of God?

And by the use of the new word “we,” it would appear Luke joined them in Troas.

Without hesitation, Paul and his team prepare to leave immediately. This obedience to God’s leading, even when it meant changing their plans yet again, demonstrates their trust and commitment.

What was the missionary team thinking?

Concluding: (KJV: assuredly gathering) sumbibazo, soom-bib-ad’-zo; to drive together, i.e. unite (in association or affection), (mentally) to infer, show, teach, compact, entrust, knit together, prove.

They put two and two together and concluded that God was leading them to Macedonia. The entire Godhead was involved in leading them to where they needed to go.

God often changes our plans, interrupts our schedules, interferes with our will to get His will done in and through our lives.

Did you know:

David Livingstone planned to go to China—God led him to Africa

Alexander Mackay prepared for work in Madagascar, the Lord directed him to Uganda to aid in founding one of the most remarkable missions in the world.

William Carey proposed to go the South Sea, but God directed him to India, where he gave the Bible to the millions in their native tongue.

Paul, Silas, and Timothy were the 1st missionary team to get some divine redirection.

What do we learn from the missionaries and the Lord here?

John MacArthur wrote, “The missionary team’s experience illustrates a basic principle of knowing God’s will: to move ahead and allow Him to close doors until the right opportunity is reached.”

Action Step:

Take immediate action when you sense God’s leading. We need to act on His guidance promptly, even if it disrupts your plans or requires you to step out of your comfort zone.

Let’s commit to responding to God’s calls with the same readiness and trust, knowing that His plans for us are always for our good and His glory.

B. B. McKinney wrote,

It may be through the shadows dim, or o’er the stormy sea, I take my cross and follow Him, wherever He leads me.

My heart, my life, my all I bring to Christ who loves me so; He is my Master, Lord, and King, wherever He leads I’ll go.

Wherever He leads I’ll go, wherever He leads I’ll go. I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so, wherever He leads I’ll go.