Paul was living in obedience to God when God twice told him 'no' to what he attempted. Paul was not like Jonah; he was walking with God, not running away from Him. We begin at the same place before going any farther. The first element before crying out to God 'Why?' or 'Help!' is to examine your own life. Are you currently living in obedience to God? Most of us know whether we are obediently walking with the Lord or not. If there is any confusion when really there should not be, the Holy Spirit by no means has lost His ability to convict of sin - simply ask God to show you if you are living in obedience to His will. But you had better mean business because God most assuredly does.
As long as we live there will always be items in our lives God continually refines as He conforms us to the image of Christ. However, a stark division exists between being in the process of sanctification versus being in direct and rebellious disobedience before God and most of us know the difference with very little searching. Making sure we are in obedience to God involves a related feature that we often overlook. A vital aspect for the test for obedience is to see whether God is the center of every realm of your life (dating, finances, direction, etc.).
Obedience to God, however, does not merely mean the avoidance of sin; it involves the active incorporation of God in all areas of our lives. For some people this may be more difficult to resolve than some active sin with which they struggle, but we have to establish this groundwork before moving on the road to Troas. The road before us is difficult enough without bringing along our extra baggage to slow us down and impede our progress.
