SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:11-15
“Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.’ And she prevailed upon us.”
There are people in our lives whom we would never have met if everything had gone according to plan. A transfer we resisted or a season we struggled to accept brought us into contact with them. Looking back, we thank God for the person, even though we did not welcome the change that brought us together. At the time, however, we were occupied with what the change meant for us. Where would we settle? How would we start again? This is one of the difficulties of being redirected: we can see the plans we are leaving behind, while much of what lies ahead is still unknown.
Paul and his companions have now reached Philippi. On the Sabbath, they go outside the city to a riverside gathering of women and begin speaking with them. Among those listening is Lydia, a trader in purple cloth. There is an interesting detail about her: she comes from Thyatira, a city in the province of Asia. Earlier, the Holy Spirit had prevented the team from preaching in that province. Now, in Macedonia, a woman from Asia is hearing the gospel! The restriction on their route had not placed her beyond God’s reach. Lydia already worshipped God, and as she listened, the Lord opened her heart to receive Paul’s message.
We are beginning to see what this redirected journey is accomplishing.
Amid the names of regions and cities, Scripture brings us close to a particular woman receiving the good news of Jesus. God’s work is wonderfully personal.
Lydia’s response then draws the travellers into her life. She and her household are baptised, and she urges the team to stay in her home. She receives the message and offers hospitality to its messengers. The people who came to serve are themselves offered care. This gives us something hopeful to consider when God leads us into unfamiliar places. We tend to ask what the change will mean for our plans, our comfort and our future. Lydia’s story helps us make room for another question: Who will we encounter there?
Our presence can become an opportunity for someone to hear about Christ. Their response and kindness can also become a blessing to us. Paul spoke, God opened Lydia’s heart, and she welcomed the team into her home. We do not have to understand every part of the journey to take the people we meet seriously. The place that feels unfamiliar today can become a place where we share God’s grace and receive care we could not have arranged for ourselves.
REFLECTION:
1. Who has become a blessing in your life through a meeting or change you had never planned?
2. Who in your present season needs you to make time to listen, share Christ or extend a welcome?
