When it comes to blogging, the “finishing strong” blogger hasn’t been very strong lately. But I’m making a comeback.

Last week I had the privilege of ministering in Thessaloniki, an historic city in northern Greece. While there my new friend and a missionary to Greece, Tony Sebastian, took a day trip to the ancient city of Philippi, the first European city in which the apostle Paul preached the gospel and planted a church.

Around 50 A.D., along with Timothy, Luke, and Silas, the apostle responded to a very vivid dream in which a Greek man said, “Come over to Macedonia (Greece) and help us.”  Concluding that God wanted Paul to preach the gospel there, his missionary team sailed from Troas to the sea port town of Neapolis (the modern day city of Kavala located on the northern coast of the Aegean Sea). 

Walking about eight miles to the northwest from Neapolis, the apostle came to the Roman colony of Philippi.  Founded by Phillip II, king of Macedon in the fourth century B.C., this city became the spiritual beach head for Paul’s apostolic ministry.

After visiting Philippi, I have begun studying Acts 16 again. From this chapter which recounts Paul’s ministry in Philippi, I have identified several important principles which can help us in our personal spiritual journeys.

#1 – When God closes a door He is directing us – not rejecting us!  (16:6 – 10)

The apostle’s plan was to preach in northwest Asia, in the regions of Galatia and Bithynia.  For reasons unknown to Paul at the time, the Holy Spirit blocked them from preaching there.  It must have seemed very odd to Paul that the God who called him to preach the gospel would not allow him to preach in this vast region where the good news had not yet been proclaimed.  Obviously, God closed that door because he had another door through which he wanted Paul to walk.

When doors that we think should be open are closed, we often become frustrated, thinking that something has gone wrong – or someone has made a mistake – or God is punishing or rejecting us.  Paul’s experience reminds us that when God closes a door He is not rejecting us – He is directing us. Thank God for His precise and impeccable direction!
#2 – When God leads us to a specific place of ministry He brings people into our path to whom we can minister (16:11 – 15).

Typically, when Paul began ministering in a new community, he began by speaking in the synagogue. Since Philippi did not have a synagogue, the apostle and his team kept their ears open and learned about a group of ladies who were praying by the river.  There they met Lydia, a business woman who opened her heart to the Lord and her home to them.

Because we know that God is directing us, whomever we meet today we can rightly assume that God has brought them into our path for a good reason. He wants us to serve them, love them, smile at them, say a kind and encouraging word to them, pray with them, or perhaps share the good news of Christ’s love with them.
#3 –  When we are doing God’s will God can use our difficult situations to accomplish His eternal purpose in our lives and the lives of others (16:16 – 34).

Paul’s preaching of the gospel resulted in harsh beatings and imprisonment for him and his sidekick, Silas.  But the two refused to complain and grumble.  Rather, they stayed focused on the Lord by praising him in a painful place.  In the end the missionaries were miraculously set free from prison and the jailer and his family were ushered into God’s kingdom!  It doesn’t get a lot better than that!

It is so easy for us to become bitter, angry, and negative when difficult circumstances happen to us, especially when we feel we deserve better because we are God’s children..

My visits to Philippi and Acts 16 have reminded me again that while bad things happen to good people, God has a way of bringing really good results out of really bad circumstances.

Let’s finish strong – others are watching!

Happy Thanksgiving!