When God commands us to do something, we may not want to do it.  Sometimes the commandments of God are contrary to our plans.  When this happens, it does not make you a bad Christian or indicate that you are less than spiritually minded.  Even Paul once experienced this.

Acts 16:6-7 (ESV)
⁶  And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. ⁷  And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

Paul wanted to go into both Asia and Bithynia, but God had other plans for him.  How did Paul respond when the Spirit forbade him from going into those places?  Did he complain or, even worse, just ignore God and go anyway?  No, he simply complied and went where he was sent.

Paul’s obedience is seen first by the fact that he did not go into those places he wanted to go.  Instead, he went to Troas.  Once there, Paul saw a vision wherein a man from Macedonia asked him to come and help.  Paul immediately knew this was a call from God, and so he continued obeying by going into Macedonia, and eventually made his way to Philippi where he preached the gospel to a group of women at a riverside just outside the city (Acts 16:11-13).

All of this led to the conversion of Lydia and her household and the establishment of the local church at Philippi.  This local church grew to be fully organized with elders, deacons, and saints (Philippians 1:1) and became one of Paul’s favorite churches that was a frontrunner in supporting him financially in preaching the gospel.

Philippians 4:15-16 (ESV)
¹⁵  And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. ¹⁶  Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.

The church at Philippi became a real blessing to Paul over the years, and it was all because he was willing to listen to God.  What if Paul had done what he wanted to do and gone into Mysia, ignoring the instructions of the Spirit?  What if he, being upset that God did not allow him to go where he planned to go, refused the Macedonian call and never made it Phillipi to preach the gospel?  The church at Phillipi may never have existed.  As it turns out, listening to God was the best thing he could have done, and I am sure he never regretted it for a moment.

There are many benefits to listening to God.  First, we avoid His wrath that will ultimately come upon all the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:1-3).  Second, we maintain our fellowship and favor with Him because listening to God  and putting His will before our own is a part of walking in the light (1 John 1:7).  Third, listening to God is always in our best interest, and more times than not, we are blessed when we do.  When we obey God consistently, it does not take long to realize that His ways are always best, even if those ways are not our ways at first.

Let’s all be like Paul and listen to God, even when what he is telling us is contrary to our own plans.  God’s ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9) and when we listen to Him, things usually turn out pretty good.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.