What shall be the sign?

Genesis 15:8  But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

2 Kings 20:8    And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?”

Luke 1:18   And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

Psalms 86:17    Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

Genesis 24:2-4    And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh,  that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell,  but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

Genesis 24:13-14     Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.  Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

Judges 6:36-40     Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said,  behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.”  And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water.  Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.”  And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

1 Samuel 14:9-10     If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them.  But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.”

Isaiah 7:11    “Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”

Matthew 12:38-40     Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”  But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

There are certain aspects of our christian life that definitely do not need a sign from God for us to follow.

2 Peter 1:4. Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;

Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

One thing is clear, if we do not spend time cultivating a life with these foundations being hammered solid through reading and applying His word, how its it expected to see a sign from Him in whom there is not daily desire to honor, glorify, serve, follow and obey.  Walking with God this side of eternity has questions which requires living active faith.  Faith that is grown and cultivated through His word.

We can ask God to give us a sign but I have found many times that He confirms directions for us to follow without us needing to ask.  We just need to have our heart and ears tuned in to listening for the quiet small whispers of God through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Do you want a sign?  

Do you want to hear Him speak into your life through His word?

Do you want to see things unfold knowing God’s hand is active in plans and purposes in your life?

Faith is the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen.  In our life of instant everything we seem have lost the ability to seek God with expectant faith anticipation.

I will show you

Genesis 12:1  Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

Genesis 15:7    And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

Nehemiah 9:7    You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.

Isaiah 41:9    you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”;

Isaiah 51:2    Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him.

Joshua 24:2-3    And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.  Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac.

Luke 14:26-33     So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

2 Corinthians 6:17     Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them

Hebrews 11:8    By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

It is one thing to be chosen and another to obey.  Being a christian is a choice of all who are called.  Likewise, listening to His whispers to our soul, obeying the word of God, , and following His leading and call on our lives is a choice.

Abraham was called and told to leave his place of comfort with his family(s).  He obeyed and left on the promise that God would lead Him to where he was to go.  He did not wait once he heard God’s calling.

Abraham had a chosen to first be near to God and had reverence of Him.  Without this choice there would have been no hearing God speak into his life.  Abraham then chose to obey God’s leading in his life with only the words of “go to the land I will show you”.   There was no map and clear plan all laid out.  There were no pictures of what the land looked like.  There was no directions to follow so that he would know how to get from point “A” to point “B”.  Abraham chose to act immediately.  He did not wait until he could confirm everything was in place and the destination and directions were clearly laid out.

Our lives are made up of choices every single day.  We can choose;

to be near to God or far away

to have reverence of Him or just passing thoughts

to want to listen to Him or turn deaf ear

to learn more of Him or neglect learning of Him

to read His word or neglect it

to honor Him or disrespect Him

to serve Him or just ourselves

to follow Him or be led by others

to worship Him or things of this world

to obey Him or disobey

to have faith in Him or trust in self

to pray to Him or not

to wait on Him or move forward on our own

to trust Him or in others

to cling to Him or in other things

to rely on Him or self

to desire Him or seek satisfaction from other things

to read His word or neglect it

to proclaim the gospel or keep silent

to love Him or have a luke warm feeling toward Him

to sacrifice to Him or keep for self

to speak of His power or be silent

to be content in His hands or be anxious and worry

to encourage others because of who He is or be silent and leave them in despair.

It is clear, we make choices everyday and they will have immediate and eternal consequences in our life and the lives of others.