"Lord, give me a sign!"

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

"Lord, give me a sign!"
By Rev. William Dohle

One of the most frustrating parts of faith is the unseen piece of it. Even though we know that "faith is the assurance of things hoped for and conviction in things not seen" we'd still like to see its fruits once in awhile.

That desire is strongest when we're faced with a tough decision. When a decision presents itself, be it a life-and-death decision or just a life-changing one, we pray for guidance. We pray for an answer to our dilemma. And, most of all, we pray for a sign.

"Just give me a sign, God!"

We'd like God to tell us what we should do and show us the way...just as he did for Aaron and the people of Israel so long ago.

There, in the desert, the question arose: Who's going to be in charge? After complaints arose against Aaron and Moses and their leadership, cries arose for a new leader. So God answered. God decided to give them a sign of the man who he had chosen to spiritually lead his people.

So this is what he said:

"Speak to the Israelites, and get twelve staffs from them, one for each ancestral house, from all the leaders of their ancestral houses. Write each man’s name on his staff, and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each ancestral house. Place them in the tent of meeting before the covenant,where I meet with you. And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout; thus I will put a stop to the complaints of the Israelites that they continually make against you." (Numbers 17:1-5)

So the people did that and what happened? Well...

"When Moses went into the tent of the covenant on the next day, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted. It put forth buds, produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the Israelites; and they looked, and each man took his staff." (Numbers 17:8-9)

Low and behold God gave them a sign! Aaron was to be their leader. His staff had put forth buds, produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds. A miracle! God had answered their prayer!

Only... the people weren't exactly happy about this. God tells them: "Put back the staff of Aaron before the covenant, to be kept as a warning to rebels, so that you may make an end of their complaints against me, or else they will die." and the people tell Moses: "We are perishing; we are lost, all of us are lost!  Everyone who approaches the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all to perish?"(Num 17:10-11)

What happened? They got a sign right? But it wasn't the sign they wanted! They heard from God but they didn't like what they heard. So the same complaints continued, even after God's sign.

The same happens to us too. If we're honest, we really don't WANT a sign to some of the questions we ask God. Or rather, we want a sign from God to confirm our own decisions and our own choices. We want God to tell us what we want to hear, rather than tell us what we'd rather not hear. Think about it... what if God said...

"I will give you peace as they die" when you pray for a sign of healing for a dying neighbor.
Or... "I think you are great just where you are..." when you pray for a promotion.
Or... "I will help you through this..." when we pray for an end to our suffering.

Sometimes we don't want to hear from God. Sometimes we don't want a sign...especially when we want something specific.

Instead of asking for a sign, perhaps we should ask for eyes to see more clearly. Perhaps we should pray for eyes to see the answer that God is giving us and wisdom to accept that answer too. Perhaps we should pray that God would grant the strength to accept God's choice, that we may have peace in that decision and patience to see it through, and that the love and joy of his Holy Spirit would continue to shower down upon us regardless of our circumstances.

Almighty God, you gave us the ultimate sign of your love: Jesus on the cross. Grant us the grace to see that love and accept it, knowing that it will make us uncomfortable at times, but save us in the end. Amen.