Words from WW Blog

“They (Paul and Silas) went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.” (Acts 16:6)

One of the hardest situations to figure out is when to know you’re done versus when to keep going; when it’s time to pull to the side versus when to puish forward. My generation has been more about pushing forward than quitting. We hate that word “quitting.” It resonates to us with immaturity, irresponsibility, and a lack of effort.

I’m generalizing here, but the younger generation seems comfortable with moving on when they feel like it, no matter the cost it has on the lives of others. Not showing up for work is not seen as irresponsible, but rather “I just don’t feel like working today!”

I know…I know, that’s a bit brutal to write, but from my experience it’s closer to the norm.

I came to that crossroads myself this past week. I had been working in a long-term substitute teaching position at the middle school where I’ve coached basketball for the past twenty-five years. This teaching position was scheduled to continue until the Christmas break. The teacher is on maternity leave. My assignment started earlier than it was supposed to because of some concerns about the teacher’s pregnancy. I had spent some time in the classroom before that, observing. Translated that means, figuring out who the suspects were in each class and becoming familiar with the class curriculum.

Three weeks into the assignment I was feeling the effects of the long hours I was having to put in, and the frustration that a few of the students were igniting within me. I had done long-term positions before, two of them resulting in me teaching the whole school year. It energized me. I looked forward to seeing my students on Mondays. However, this time things were different…and I knew it was time. Sometimes God says “yes”, sometimes “no”, and sometimes “not yet.”

Five weeks into my assignment I sensed that the Holy Spirit was nudging me to give it up. I forewarned the assistant principal that I was considering the possibility, and at six weeks, I told her I was stepping to the side. She was disappointed because she knew my history of working and relating well to the students.

Sometimes a person needs to discern when he is grinding versus being grounded. I was grinding myself into the dust to the point that my wife was getting worried. When God closes one door, the Christ follower needs to be cognizant of another open that might suddenly open. Or maybe the Holy Spirit is saying that it’s time for a brief rest, a stepping away before being asked to step up.

I’ve always been intrigued by the verse in Acts 16, where the Holy Spirit forbade Paul and Silas to speak the word in Asia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go into Bithynia. It wasn’t the end of their journey; it was just a redirection that, shortly after, resulted in Lydia’s conversion during their visit to Philippi.

Rest is not the norm for me, although in my thirty-six years of pastoring the Sunday afternoon nap was a gift from God. I’m more comfortable with the words “redirection” and “pause.”

So I’m pausing, like the pause button on my background piano music right now as I write this. It’s only for a few moments before the melody begins again.

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This entry was posted on October 21, 2025 at 4:39 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Bible, Christianity, Faith, God, Jesus

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