(emphasis mine)
Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having BEEN KEPT by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they TRIED TO enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus WOULD NOT ALLOW them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “COME OVER to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

–Parallel verses:
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭1‬-‭4‬
But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; YOU ARE MINE. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.

Have you ever wondered what God is up to? Why hasn’t he given you the dreams or desires of your heart? Maybe your dreams and desires seem good and right in your eyes, but he just isn’t answering the way you want him to.

Paul and his companions were traveling around with a passion: to share the good news about Jesus with those who were lost in sinful practices, oppressed by evil spirits and evil men, and needed to truly come alive again. They had experienced the incredible joy of new life in Christ and they wanted to share it with specific people. They had dreams and plans of how to spread the gospel.

One place they wanted to share it with was the entire province of Asia. There were lost people there and they needed a touch from Jesus the Savior. But it says here that they were KEPT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT from preaching the Word of God to the people in Asia. And again, when they tried to enter Bithynia [it is implied to also preach the good news about Jesus there], the Spirit of Jesus would NOT ALLOW THEM TO ENTER.

For Paul and his travelers, who likely knew some people in these places, moreso, the church likely had members with family in these places to minister to, these “hard stops” would have been potentially crushing. Questions were likely thrown around, like: Why would God just not protect us as we preached — he has done this in other areas? We have been praying for these people for so long, why now a “hard no”? Maybe the route was safer and easier through Asia, but they had to travel around for seemingly no reason?

While we don’t know the “whys” behind God’s direction or lack of access to fulfill the dreams we have for good, we can still trust him that he has a wonderful plan in mind for us, though hardship exists. Who knows, maybe he is protecting us in some way or is waiting for just the right timing?

I love the passage in Isaiah because it leaves no doubt about God’s commitment to his chosen people. He says, “You are mine!” to Isaiah. And he proclaims this to you and me today, if we have chosen to follow him with our whole hearts. And then God goes into specific examples of the troubles and trials he will rescue Isaiah from: 1) Storms at sea will be accompanied by God, 2) Floods and raging rapids by river will not overpower him, and 3) Forest fires, fires by war, and fiery furnaces will not harm him.

He is so highly-valued of God that he would exchange whole nations for Isaiah (like a prisoner swap with Satan).

And then, God sends them a vision of where they are to go … Macedonia. They went about their business in preaching to the other cities on their strategic plan to spread the gospel, they got shut down in Asia and Bithynia, but they were called to Macedonia!

So the great truths I gather from this passage are: 1) God has a better plan than I do, 2) When my dreams of doing good work for him are shut down, I need to process the pain and heartache of it all, but still trust him and wait for … 3) His calling into new lands, new paths, new relationships, and new careers!

Lord, YOU REIGN! You reign over all the dreams and desires that I have in this heart you have transformed to do good. You reign over unfair circumstances, persecution, health issues, and closed doors. You reign when all seems, in the moment, that you failed to show up or deliver in the ways we expect you to. Teach me to trust you deeper, to just stand when I can do nothing else, and to never stand in your way.