Have You Been Waiting for a Sign From God?
Ken Davis, a Christian comedian, tells a humorous story of a Christian who gets on an empty city bus, walks to the rear, and sits down. Lord, he prays, if you want me to speak to someone about you, please give me a sign. At the next stop another passenger gets on, goes all the way to the back of the bus, and sits right down next to the Christian. “Do you know anything about Jesus?” the passenger asks.
The Christian excuses himself for a moment and slowly bows his head once again and prays,
Lord if you really want me to talk to this stranger, I need just one more sign. Please turn the bus driver into an armadillo.
Have you been praying for armadillos?
– Quoted from The 10 Second Rule
There are some decisions we don’t have to spend much time thinking about, like simple everyday impressions from God to do something kind or generous for another person. Simple stuff.
And, there are biblical accounts of people looking for signs, testing the will of God for major decisions, like when Gideon “put out the fleece” and the disciples waited for the Holy Spirit’s coming. However the waiting for a sign stories are few and far between in Scriptures, and they certainly aren’t the normal way God directs his people to make major decisions today.
Signs don’t require faith
Think about it; asking for a big dramatic sign before you move forward in obedience doesn’t really require faith at all. It’s literally walking by sight – not by faith!
Nevertheless, we Christians still like the idea of signs, don’t we? Why? Perhaps because it puts the responsibility back on God before we feel compelled to act on something we may not really want to do.
I want to make this clear, right up front; I believe it is perfectly legitimate to ask God to make his will known to you about important decisions you’re uncertain of. To ask God for his will, honors him. It lets him know you not only care about his will, but that you want his will to be “done on earth (in your life) as it is in heaven.”
It’s complicated
But here’s where it get’s tricky. I trust God, but I don’t always trust me! And you may not want to trust yourself either. By that I mean, when I’m looking for God’s will in a certain situations, I tend to look for signs that confirm what my heart desires. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things.” Jeremiah 17:9 We want, what we want.
So, is there a better way to get direction from God? There is, but it’s not easy. Here are three ideas that may help you.
The Christian excuses himself for a moment and slowly bows his head once again and prays,
Lord if you really want me to talk to this stranger, I need just one more sign. Please turn the bus driver into an armadillo.
Have you been praying for armadillos?
– Quoted from The 10 Second Rule
There are some decisions we don’t have to spend much time thinking about, like simple everyday impressions from God to do something kind or generous for another person. Simple stuff.
And, there are biblical accounts of people looking for signs, testing the will of God for major decisions, like when Gideon “put out the fleece” and the disciples waited for the Holy Spirit’s coming. However the waiting for a sign stories are few and far between in Scriptures, and they certainly aren’t the normal way God directs his people to make major decisions today.
Signs don’t require faith
Think about it; asking for a big dramatic sign before you move forward in obedience doesn’t really require faith at all. It’s literally walking by sight – not by faith!
Nevertheless, we Christians still like the idea of signs, don’t we? Why? Perhaps because it puts the responsibility back on God before we feel compelled to act on something we may not really want to do.
I want to make this clear, right up front; I believe it is perfectly legitimate to ask God to make his will known to you about important decisions you’re uncertain of. To ask God for his will, honors him. It lets him know you not only care about his will, but that you want his will to be “done on earth (in your life) as it is in heaven.”
It’s complicated
But here’s where it get’s tricky. I trust God, but I don’t always trust me! And you may not want to trust yourself either. By that I mean, when I’m looking for God’s will in a certain situations, I tend to look for signs that confirm what my heart desires. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things.” Jeremiah 17:9 We want, what we want.
So, is there a better way to get direction from God? There is, but it’s not easy. Here are three ideas that may help you.
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