Do you see signs? Moreover, do you pay attention to signs?Some signs are obvious. They convey information or provide direction. For example: Stop, Yield, Wrong Way, One Way, Do Not Enter, Push, Pull, or Open Here. Every public building and retail store is filled with signs posting prices, directing us to the locations of certain offices, or even just saying the name of the building.Some information or direction signs use humor, which makes the message more memorable. A grocery store sign: "Snickers, 5 for $1.00 (limit 4)". At one of our local cemeteries there’s a big sign: "DRIVE CAREFULLY- WE CAN WAIT!" I have heard of a sign posted on a repair shop's door: "We can repair anything. (Please knock hard on the door - the bell doesn't work)"
Have you ever had someone not see something so obvious that you wanted to write out a sign stating the obvious, hand it to the person, and say “Here’s your sign, you seem to need it”? Sometimes there are signs that one might over look. For example: A person might comment about how others take him or her for granted, or that if that person were not around, others would find that they miss this person. These are casual signs that could indicate a suicidal intent. If such signs are overlooked, the person “holding” the signs may take their own life.
Sometimes, there are visible signs are even overlooked. For example, a child might act out in school. It could be a sign that there is something terrible happening at home. Maybe the parents fight often, maybe a parent is an alcoholic, and maybe one of a hundred other dysfunctions is occurring. Same is with God. He provides signs, so that we can have faith. Do you see the signs in all of these examples?
He replied, "When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away. (Matthew 16:2-4)
Sometimes when one prays one wants an answer through a sign. I have prayed asking God that if such and such a thing is what He desires, would He please show me a sign. Sometimes the sign is obvious and I have my answer. Sometimes there is not an answer. Stop. Wait. There is a sign. Sometimes I do not see the sign. Sometimes I did see it, but I did not recognize it as a sign that answered my prayer. Sometimes I refuse to see the signs that I know are there, because the sign means God’s answer to my prayer is no. Sometimes, there is no sign because God hasn’t answered me yet.Where are the signs? Sometimes God desires one to develop their faith without having a sign placed in their life. One is to grow in spirit and in trusting Him and to lean upon Him for direction, not always having to see a sign.
If one is truly looking for a sign, then here is the answer: “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him.” (John 14:21). One must be careful when looking for the signs lest Satan uses them for his purpose. 2 Corinthians 11: No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
When one loses oneself in Christ and looks to Christ in everything, then the signs will appear, and your need for signs decreases. If one is truly in Christ, then one’s answers come through trust, through faith in Him. One then knows and trusts that things happen not in our time, but in God’s time. One stops and considers the signs around, the obvious ones and the silent ones, and trusts that God is in control. Have you read the signs in your life lately?
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