During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." Acts 16:9
On July 4, 1851, a railroad company began to lay track that was planned to run from St. Louis to the Pacific coast. It did not get any farther than the town of Pacific, 37 miles southwest of the starting point. Incompetence and corruption led to bankruptcy of the company and to a change in plans. It remained for another group to push on to Kansas City and beyond.
Quite often, changes in life's plans become necessary. The projected Tower of Babel was never finished. The Lord intervened because of the builders' pride. Jesus points out the folly of a man who laid the foundation for a tower which he could not complete because he had not first figured the cost. Similarly, Jesus points out, kings going forth to conquer must sometimes change their plans. Having underestimated the opponent's strength, they must ask for peace.
Changing one's plans is sometimes the better part of wisdom. God may intervene and put us on another road. During his second missionary journey Saint Paul, accompanied by Silas, intended to revisit the young churches in the Asia Minor provinces and to start new ones, "but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to" (Acts 16:7). All doors were closed, for God had other plans. At Troas, not far from Homer's Troy, Saint Paul had a night vision of a man asking him to "come over to Macedonia and help us" (Acts 16:9). In response, he and Silas left Asia Minor to be the first Christian missionaries in the continent of Europe.
Sometimes our best-laid plans go awry. We have to start over, asking God to help us to find the right path as we regroup. Amid all the changes in our world and in our lives, there is one constant: Our God is changeless. Jesus Christ is the same, today, yesterday, and forever. His Word abides forever. His saving love is today the same as it was when He walked the road to Mount Calvary to lay down His life for our salvation. This fact is the starting point when we must reroute our lives.
PRAYER: Dear Lord God, give me wisdom to guide me when changes occur in my life. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for being my traveling companion. Amen.
(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Hosea 5-8 Romans 15:1-13
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