From Romans 15: ‘...and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.’
In the passage quoted by Paul in, the prophet Isaiah foretold that the news of Jesus’ atonement for them would startle the nations when this message was brought to them. Jesus told his followers to fulfill Scripture: to make disciples of those in the nations that had not yet heard the message (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8). The Spirit directed Paul to do just that, leading him in where he was to go next, thereby hindering him from coming to Rome where the church was already being built by another. Paul recognized that the Spirit was leading him into areas of the unreached... Reaching the unreached is God’s priority. Is it ours?