Man’s Plans, God’s Plans

As further evidence of his intense desire to visit the Roman believers, Paul here mentions that he frequently has gone so far as to make concrete plans for the trip. However, he never has been able to follow through on those plans, not because things “just didn’t work out,” but because he has been “hindered” from going. Is Paul speaking here of other people preventing him from making the trip, of problems in the churches necessitating that he stay put, or perhaps even of his own “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7) making a journey too difficult? Any or all of these circumstances may have come into play when Paul made plans to go to Rome. However, in the ultimate sense it was God who hindered him from making the journey.

Why would God prevent Paul from going to Rome, especially given his noble reasons for wanting to go—to “have some fruit” among the Christians there, to strengthen their faith, to encourage them? Of course, we cannot discern all of God’s intentions, but Paul himself touches on one reason: He was needed elsewhere. He says here that he wants to have fruit among the Romans “as among the other Gentiles.” And in Romans 15:18–21, he speaks of his fruitful ministry in Asia and Greece, adding, “For this reason I also have been much hindered from coming to you” (v. 22). Clearly one of the reasons God blocked Paul from going to Rome was that He had work for the apostle to do in other regions. Despite Paul’s deep desire to go, despite his earnest prayers, God has His own timetable and itinerary for Paul’s ministry. And Paul, as a bondservant of Christ, is perfectly willing to submit to His Master’s plan. Dr. James M. Boice writes in his commentary, “He recognized that delay in reaching Rome was for the sake of the Christian mission elsewhere.”

Of course, we know that Paul eventually makes it to Rome, though probably not in a way he ever foresaw. He comes as a prisoner after appealing to Caesar (Acts 25:11–12; 28:16). And yet, his prayers are answered, for he is able to preach and teach (Acts 28:31); the Roman Christians encourage him (Acts 28:15) and presumably are encouraged by his ministry; and he is given fruit there, in some most unexpected places (Phil. 4:22). According to the wise plans of the sovereign God, the faithful servant of the Lord receives the desire of his heart.