Looking for a Sign

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"Lord, give me a sign."

I would hazard to guess that virtually every Christian has at some point in his or her walk of faith asked God for a "sign" -- i.e., a clear indication of his will or leading. I have never, however, heard of God answering with a giant billboard that suddenly dropped down out of heaven.

What, if anything, is wrong with asking for signs from God? Didn't people in the Bible do so? Didn't Jesus provide signs aplenty through his miracles?

If we define "sign" as an event or occurrence that will force even the greatest skeptic to believe in and seek after God, then there is no such thing. After all, the same Pharisees who witnessed Jesus' miracles firsthand and therefore could not deny their reality, nonetheless tried to deny their true source -- and hence their authority -- by attributing them to Satan. If, however, we define "sign" as an event or occurrence which clearly indicates God's will, then God has already provided every man, woman and child on this planet with the two greatest signs he will ever give: 1) his written Word, the Bible, and 2) his Word in the flesh, Jesus Christ. It's no coincidence that we need the first to know more about the second, and that the second repeatedly points us toward the first.

As I heard a friend say once, "The Bible is everything that is knowable about God." And yet for far too many of us -- born-again Christians included -- the Bible is little more than a leather-bound, gold-edged dust collector.

Do you want to know what God's will is for your life? Then read, study, and apply God's inspired, authoritative Word, the Bible. Do you want to have more Holy Spirit power for overcoming the difficulties in your life? Then dig into the book that the Holy Spirit gave us: God's inspired, authoritative Word, the Bible. Do you want to feel God's presence? Then offer prayers of praise and thanksgiving as you meditate on God's inspired, authoritative Word, the Bible.

Far too many of us -- born-again Christians included -- are content to get our Bible knowledge second-hand. We'll sit in church and listen to our pastor exposit and expound. We'll sit in a Sunday school class or small group and listen to others tell what they've learned. We'll flip on the radio and listen to our favorite Bible teacher. And, while there is certainly nothing wrong with those things, making do with them alone is like swallowing food someone else has already chewed. (Yuk!) As good and as needed as those things are, they should never and can never replace regular, committed, personal Bible study. You know, the kind where, in the words of Max Lucado, we come before God with an open heart and an open Bible.

Still looking for a sign? Okay, here's a pretty clear one: "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NASB).

Recommendation: Productive digging into God's Word requires some tools. At the very least, you will want a good Bible handbook and/or introduction, along with a good Bible Dictionary. I own and regularly use these and several other resources, a listing of which can be found HERE.

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