THE ROAD OF LIFE

 You never know where the road of life is going to take you.

 Acts 16 is a story about the unexpected outcomes of God-ordained change — all the bad and all the good, and how we can learn to be content and give God the glory no matter what happens.

Verses 6-8—Paul and Silas and ministry team havewalkedover a thousand miles. Weeks have gone by, and they are still unclear about the will of God

Lesson: Most of the decisions we make are VERY COMPLEX

and they affect OTHER PEOPLE,

 who may or may like what happens to them because of our decisions.

Verses 9 — At last! A sense of God’s leading! 

 Lesson: When we are walking with God, we can make decisions with... 

• FAITH — you don’t know everything now that you’ll know later

• and CONFIDENCE — that things will work out, and even if they don’t, God’s grace will sustain you. Paul and Silas looked forward, but they didn’t look back. See Verse 10.

Verses 11-12 — Where do Paul and Silas end up?  What’s the name of the city? PHILIPPI

Verses 16-24 — You never know where the road of life is going to take you.

• How could everything so right turn out so wrong?
• If we knew then what we know now, we would never had made this decision.
• Why is this happening to us if we were so sure God was leading us in the first place?
• Somehow, we failed. Or people have failed us.  Or God has failed us.

You never know where the road of life is going to take you, but where ever it takes you, GOD WILL BE THERE.

 Lesson:  Life is not about living happily ever after. It’s about making the BESTof every situation and being as CONTENT as you can be no matter what happens, even if it seems like God led you into this mess. Look how Paul and Silas respond: Verse 25.

• No sniveling
• No attitude
• A great attitude
• ..”the other prisoners were listening to them.”

Conclusion:Where was Paul thrown in prison? PHILIPPI.  See Philippians 4:11-13.

“Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”

— Philippians 4:12-13, The Message