I often find myself wishing that God would just tell me, in a clear and unmistakeable way, exactly what it is He wants me to do. I read about people throughout the Bible who hear the audible voice of God, or have a vision, or talk to a burning bush, and God gives them some specific instructions on what they should do next. God still gives out the occaisonal vision to some people, but the vast majority of us are not given such specific instructions.
God primarily speaks to us through His Word and the Holy Spirit will place in us desires to do certain things. However, sometimes we might have a desire to do something that sounds good and lines up with scripture, but that desire isn’t in line with God’s plan. At those times, He will find some way to impress upon you that you’re heading in the wrong direction.
This passage describes a time when Paul and his posse were redirected a few times by the Holy Spirit:
6They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;
7and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them;
8and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
9A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
10When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Acts 16:6-10
There have been several times when I felt like God was pointing me in a certain direction, and I have tried to follow those hunches only to have circumstances and situations stop me in my tracks. Sometimes I think maybe I gave up too easily or I just didn’t have enough faith to get past some seemingly imposible hurtle, but I have come to realize how, a lot of times, God uses these kinds of circumstances to keep us pointed in the right direction.
This little scene in Pauls journey is a great example of what it can be like when you’re trying to figure out what God’s wants you to do next. Paul and his buddies, kept trying to pursue different things, but they were paying attention to the direction of the Holy Spirit and allowed themselves to be led by Him rather then just going it alone. It doesn’t say how the Spirit stopped them from going to Asia or Bithynia, but wether it was a feeling they all shared, or a circumstance that made it impossible to go on, they recognized the work of the Holy Sprit and moved on to something else.
God may not send you a vision in a dream at the end like he did for Paul, but the real key to all this is to keep moving forward and do something. Have a desire to have Jesus in your life and He will lead you. Just be about Jesus and what He is doing. Stay close to God through reading His Word & prayer, and when the Holy Sprit directs you, you will recognize it. He will reveal your calling exactly when you are supposed to have it.