Signs

I like to think, when I read the Bible or hear Bible stories, that I would be smarter or make better choices than some of the characters. But my guess is that I’m fooling myself.


Take Gideon and the fleece for example. Giddy asks for a sign: the fleece to be wet, the ground dry. It happens. So he rationalizes it away and asks for a new sign: the ground to be wet and the fleece dry. When he cannot rationalize this away, he accepts his calling.

I have a hard time with the whole sign thing, too. I’ll ask God for signs, but I don’t really believe that he’s going to answer, even though I’ve seen evidence of it in the past. This is especially the case when I don’t get an answer in the first few minutes.

When I don’t immediately get the sign I’m looking for I consider acting anyway, because I want to do what I want to do or maybe I forgot or maybe someone else is waiting for me to be their sign, so I’m really holding God back if I don’t go ahead (and do what I want to do).

Or when I get my sign I rationalize it, like Gideon. Sure, I asked to have someone ask me about x, but maybe they just asked me without God’s prompting and it’s not really God, it’s just people.

That’s not to say that I think that you should always go around looking for “signs.” Two days ago I spilled hot coffee all over my hand and nearly developed blisters. Yesterday I spilled half of my creamer all over the floor. My mom says that maybe it’s a sign that I should stop drinking coffee. I think that it’s a sign that maybe I should be less clumsy.

And that’s also not to say that I think that once you get a sign that you’ve asked for you should just dive right in, without thinking. Remember, God has a plan that’s not your plan, and even though He’s giving you what you asked for he may have a VERY different idea of how for how that plan is going to play out.

At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.