Will God Give You a Sign?

Posted on by Jennifer Arimborgo

sign

As we continue to explore the topic of knowing and following Daddy God’s voice, here’s a question that pops up occasionally: Is it okay to ask God for a sign? Let’s examine two passages of Scripture that address this concept.

What is the difference here? Both Gideon and the religious leaders of Jesus’ day asked for a sign. Gideon received what he requested. The religious leaders did not.

As we dig into the two stories, we find the answer. Gideon’s heart was right toward God. In spite of his insecurity, he was willing to obey God’s risky-seeming commands. In fact, his first act of submission – tearing down his father’s Baal altar and Asherah pole – put his very life in jeopardy. This was some costly obedience.

On the other hand, the religious leaders’ hearts were at the opposite extreme of the submissiveness spectrum. Their souls were so closed off to God’s ways that He compared them to whitewashed tombs: attractive on the outside but full of deathly rot on the inside. Their request for a sign was a prideful demand for proof, rather than a sincere, humble petition. It came out of a spirit of unbelief and hardheartedness. These men, in all truth, were rebelliously challenging Jesus’ authority rather than submitting to it.

The Lord responded to the religious leaders with a warning. In contrast, He responded to Gideon with copious amounts of encouragement. What’s more, Gideon asked for a total of three signs, and God granted all three to him… plus one extra that he hadn’t even asked for. I see Daddy’s gentleness in this narrative; tenderly, eagerly, liberally making available to His son all the reassurance he needed to take on such a humanly impossible task.

So, returning to the original question. Is it okay for you and me to ask God for a sign? I believe the answer is yes, as long as our hearts are in a place of humble, obedient submission.

He sees your heart, you who are longing to please Him. He delights in your desire to follow Him, far more profoundly than you can even begin to imagine. Gideon was frail. He was made of dust. He was unsure. He was hiding. He felt insignificant. So many times, that’s how you and I feel as we travel along the road of God’s purposes. The Lord had indescribably deep compassion on His son’s vulnerabilities. And He has indescribably deep compassion on yours.

He was willing to provide all the assurance Gideon needed, to move forward in following His apparently perilous instructions. Every single time Gideon asked, He answered. And then He even threw in more than requested. He is truly able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we ask or imagine, when it comes to guiding us with clarity and strengthening us for the path He lays out ahead of us.

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If you long to walk in His will, He will lovingly, open-handedly deliver everything you need to do so. He will show you His plan. And then He will confirm it to you again, and again, and again. I have actually found that He will confirm His word to me dozens of times, if I ask Him to. He never gets tired of providing that important affirmation that we have perceived His leading correctly. How deeply grateful am I for this endless generosity!

One thing I will add, though, is this: God reserves the right to be God, to be Master. While He will always offer confirmation when we need it, it may not come in the way we were expecting. Sometimes it does. (Gideon got his wet fleece; then his dry fleece.) Sometimes, though, it doesn’t. Daddy is infinitely creative in His communication. Often there are times when He will find a different way to confirm His will, than the one we were envisioning or requesting. However, one way or another, He will always answer the prayer for clarity. When it comes to guidance, just like any other need…

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matt. 7:7-11, NKJV).

If you are sincerely asking Him for direction, would your perfectly loving heavenly Daddy, who gave everything for you, possibly allow you to be led astray?

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Have you ever asked God for a sign? How did He answer?

 

 

31 thoughts on “Will God Give You a Sign?”

  1. Once when the kids were small, we were at an outdoor religious gathering in August in Georgia. Boiling hot, and no breeze to be found. At one point in the afternoon, I had our daughter in my arms, strolling around in the back of the crowd. I was becoming concerned about the heat, especially with regard to Emily, who has never handled summer heat that well. As great as the event was, I was beginning to wonder if we should leave.
    As soon as that thought hit my head, it happened. Someone unseen blew a single, slight, cooling breath straight into my face. Emmy was on my shoulder; it couldn’t have been her. I stopped, grinned, looked up and thought, “Okay. Message received. We’ll stay.”

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      3. Those memories are truly an unspeakably precious gift! I believe the living experience of God’s faithfulness to us is what gradually deepens our faith more and more and more. The longer we walk with Him, the more of those memories we have, and the deeper our faith-roots grow as a result. Seems like this is what the book of Revelation means by overcoming “by the word of their testimony.” 🙂

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  4. My daycare provider was especially stressed during one holiday season and had asked God for more time. She fervently prayed for a couple of weeks. One day, one of the parents brought along a seasoning she needed for a recipe. I don’t recall what she’d asked for, but what she got was thyme. 😂 Apparently God had heard her, and his answer was “My grace is sufficient.” 😉

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  5. I had another thought about this. With Gideon, I think God’s reassurance may have been because Gideon, deep down, doubted HIMSELF. Did he hear God right? God does some crazy stuff to be sure the glory is his and not ours. Can you imagine how often Noah wondered if he’d heard God right? His confirmation may have been in the exactness of instructions for the ark. It’s so sweet that God is willing to indulge or uncertainty!

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  6. This is spot on! It reminds of people who say it’s wrong to question God. It depends on the question and how we’re asking it. Signs are the same!

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  7. Great teaching blog. Thank you. Believing I was being called to go to a place and knowing I did not have enough money. I asked God for a sign. Please Father if this is Your Will, please could I see $1000 in my had so I will know this is YOUR WILL. Then I will be able to move forward. Miraculously in my hand the very next week I held a cheque which had come from the estate of a dearly loved friend. The letter written said…….. This will come to you at a pre-determined time, I believe and pray, to show the will of God. It was $1,000. Indeed that time away far from home was one of the greatest learning experiences of my life (not just in ministry or ‘connecting’ but in the unbelievable possibilities in God. )

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  8. Wow, Jennifer, my pastor was literally preaching on signs and Gideon this Sunday in our small town in Tennessee! And then this popped up I my messenger. How’s that for a sign!?? 😉

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