HELEN SANDERS
7-2-2026
THE TIMING OF GOD

In Acts Chapter 16, Paul and Silas were on a journey. They tried to go to Asia, but they were stopped. Acts 16:6 b says, “…and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia.” Then they tried to go to Mysia, but the Spirit would not allow them to go there either.

I wonder how many of us would have just given up after trying twice to “serve” God somewhere or in something and it did not work out. It wasn’t that God did not want the gospel preached in Asia or Mysia; it just wasn’t Paul and Silas’s assignment. God had a different assignment for them.

After the two times of being forbidden to go to a place, Paul had a night vision. In that vision he saw a man saying, “Come over into Macedonia, and help us.” [16:9] They then knew what they were supposed to do.

You see, God had already arranged circumstances in Macedonia for Lydia to encounter the gospel; a demon possessed woman to be set free; and a jailer and his entire household to be saved. It all came together because Paul and Silas did not go where they should not have gone. By obeying the Holy Spirit many lives were saved.

When God’s timing and your timing disagree, then God always wins. You might pursue something that looks good, but it will not work if it is not of God. By not obeying the Spirit, you could mess things up for things to come together in “the right timing” for someone else’s assignment

Do not get upset when things come your way that stop you on a path that is not your assignment. Those things often come to protect you from failing. We should be thankful for that.

On the other hand, when you know your assignment and Satan is trying to hinder it, then you must press through the things that are blocking the fulfillment of your assignment. You can only know the right path for you by spending time in prayer and listening to that inner voice. By doing so you can be assured that God will guide you. [John 16:13].

When God’s timing is right for you, go with it. There will be battles, but God will be with you. Until then, be patient until God gives you the right assignment and his green light.