Remaining faithful when God seems to contradict Himself

Acts 16:7  "When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to."

Paul and Silas had set out on the second missionary journey, in which they traveled eastward to spread the Gospel.  The purpose of the journey was to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Jesus had instructed His disciples to carry this message to all peoples and to the ends of the earth.  Yet on this journey, when they came to certain areas, the Spirit stopped them and told them not to enter.

This message could have been very confusing to Paul and Silas.  The Great Commission didn't say to carry the message to the ends of the earth, "except, here, here and here."  The message could have been ignored or disregarded, since it seemed to contradict another message from God.  They had already received an instruction from God, so they could have shut their ears and hearts off to God at that point.  They could have taken it upon themselves to carry out God's instructions in their way and by their own plan.

There is an important lesson here.  God doesn't send instructions one time and one time only.  He doesn't solely deal in the high-level, strategic areas, leaving the tactical details solely to us.  We need to remain sensitive and open to His continual instruction and direction.