“Give me a sign!”
Do you ever feel like this? Deep down, you know what God wants you to do next, but fear or doubt creeps in and you begin to second guess everything?
“If You could give me a sign, Father, then I’d know for sure and would be able to do exactly what you want me to do.”
The problem with doubt or fear or worry is—in that fragile state of mind and heart—even true signs from the Creator of the universe likely won’t do much to help us because the real problem often isn’t a lack of clarity—
it’s a lack of faith and trust in Him and His will.
It’s a kind of denial that blinds us to what’s right in front of us and prevents us from taking the next step in faith, and it opens the door to deceptive signs from the enemy (Matthew 24:24, Thessalonians 2:8).
As a much younger follower of Christ, I often sought signs from God, not realizing He had already spoken to me through His Word, through my circumstances, through my wiser and more objective loved ones.
“Lord, if you want me to raise the money to go on this mission trip … Lord, if you want me to declare a different major … Lord, if I’m supposed to take this job, make it clear by giving me an obvious sign, please.”
I thought I needed that extra reassurance in order to move forward, but now I understand that my doubt—
… in myself,
… in my abilities,
… in my worthiness,
… in my readiness,
… in His choosing me to do a thing (ultimately doubting God’s decisions … which sounds ridiculous now, I know)—
likely led to more confusion, to missed opportunities and missed blessings when those signs didn’t appear and that next right step wasn’t taken.
My doubt, in effect, became disobedience.
I think it’s something most of us go through, regretting our mistakes, grieving the things that could have been, getting hung up on the what-ifs.
But, friends, we give ourselves far too much credit if we think that any amount of our failings and inaction and lack of this or that will ever prevent God’s greater will from being accomplished.
He will see His will through to completion regardless (Isaiah 46:8-11, Philippians 1:6), despite us, but we can certainly miss out on being a part of that and even cause others to miss out on being a part of that—
… by not being obedient and not stepping forward when He calls us,
… by allowing fear to become greater than our faith.
What a tragic loss that would be, to even temporarily miss His will for us because our own free will got in the way.
The BEST news is that we serve a God of grace and mercy and unimaginable possibilities (Ephesians 3:20).
He is fully capable of using our past missteps and sincere repentance for His glory. We need only to do the next right thing, right when and where He speaks to us.
No waiting for an extra, revelatory, miraculous, perfectly timed sign.
His Word is the sign.
His faithfully kept promises are the signs.
His very Spirit living within us is the sign.
His trustworthiness, love and manifest presence are the signs.
His choosing YOU is the sign.
And our obedience to Him is always the next right step.
When we find ourselves truly lacking clarity concerning His will—not for want of faith, not when He’s already spoken plainly through His Word, not because we’re testing Him (Deuteronomy 6:16)—
… asking for His guidance and direction and wisdom could be just what He intended for us in the first place,
… all the while learning to lean into Him and listen for His true and unwavering voice in the midst of the cacophony swirling around us.
If He produces a spectacular sign in the sky, it will be because He intended it from the beginning, not because of our own impatient insistence.
Pray. Have faith. Study His Word. Listen and wait only for God.
“And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].”
Philippians 4:7 (AMP)
Feature photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash
