Waiting For Sign

 Maybe God Is Waiting for a Sign from Us

The words on our Church marquis made this thought provoking statement.  What kind of sign would God hope to find from us?  Perhaps a sign that we are listening. . . .  An open Bible on the table could be a sign, or maybe a quick prayer when one of us has a flash of anger or a moment of temptation.  How  about  a pile of gear, food and clothing showing we are making preparations to follow Him somewhere.  A check in an envelope ready to mail to a ministry could be a sign from us. 

I love signs.  When I am working I often go cross country to check grass, fences, water tanks and so forth. I wander along cow or wildlife trails from park to park looking for the places that elk, cattle and deer are feeding.  When mid-afternoon comes I check my map to see how far  I have come and if there is a trail nearby that I could follow back to my truck.  I usually travel in a circle or loop to cover as much country as possible without backtracking.  If my horse, Chance is along it is a snap.  He has a wonderful sense of direction.  I figure if I measure grazing use, streambank disturbance and check improvements he can earn his keep by remembering how to get back to the trailer.  It is a great system.  Unfortunately, I went without him this particular day. 

I was searching for seed-heads of Spirea plants for a research project.  I was looking at the ground while walking along in the timber.  I lost track of time and traveled farther than I had planned.  When I looked around I realized I had no idea which way to go back to the truck.  I had planned to leave the truck for only a few minutes.  I did not take my field pack that contained my GPS and compass.  I had only a zip-lock bag to hold the seeds.  A wave of fear washed over me.  I looked around and recognized a peak that was in the opposite direction of my truck.  I faced away from the peak and traveled in as straight a line as possible.  I stumbled on a trail that was going in the direction I wanted to go.  Next I found a fence.  I knew I was parked near the cattleguard on that fence-line.  I decided to turn up the fence as it seemed like I had traveled downhill to begin with.  About half an hour later I came to a sign. Now I knew I needed to backtrack and go the other way.  I walked about 45 minutes and came to the truck, right where I had left it.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may like to see a sign from us that tells a story of where we are, how we are doing and if we are following Him or thrashing around in the timber.

In the Bible verses above is the story about King Hezekiah of Judah.  He was ill and near death but he prayed to the Lord and asked to be healed.  The Lord answered this prayer with a “Yes”.

2 Kings 20:10: “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah.  “Rather have it go back 10 steps.” 20:11 “Then the prophet  Isaiah called upon the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.  

God healed Hezekiah and gave him fifteen additional years of life on this earth.  He also gave Hezekiah a sign to comfort him.  The Lord has given us so much more.  We have the sign of the cross to remind us of His payment for our sins.  He has given us the sign of the empty tomb showing that his sacrifice was successful.  Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit to fill us, guide us, and empower us to do His will.  And finally, as Jesus was taken up into the clouds.  Two men in dressed in white told the believers gathered there. . .

Acts 1:11 . . . “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into Heaven will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into Heaven.”

Dear Lord Jesus, I hope you see signs in me that I am following you.  Help me to be faithful.  Help me to be fruitful. I love you.  Diane