Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, “Ask the Lord your God for a sign,whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah:7:10-14)
So many times, when we are in a dilemma over a certain decision we always like to have a sign from the Lord. Is it the right thing to do? Let's see a few instances in the Bible where the servants of GOD requested for a sign from Him. We read in Judges:6:36-40 Gideon, not just once but twice requests for a specific sign from the Lord, so He could go to war with the Midianites. The Lord too obliges Gideon's request and gives him the sign on both occasions. Now, we must understand that Gideon just had an encounter with the Lord and is taking his first few steps of faith. As long as you believe in the Lord and want a confirmation from Him on a specific thing, when you are at an infant stage of your relationship with GOD, He obliges.
So many times, when we are in a dilemma over a certain decision we always like to have a sign from the Lord. Is it the right thing to do? Let's see a few instances in the Bible where the servants of GOD requested for a sign from Him. We read in Judges:6:36-40 Gideon, not just once but twice requests for a specific sign from the Lord, so He could go to war with the Midianites. The Lord too obliges Gideon's request and gives him the sign on both occasions. Now, we must understand that Gideon just had an encounter with the Lord and is taking his first few steps of faith. As long as you believe in the Lord and want a confirmation from Him on a specific thing, when you are at an infant stage of your relationship with GOD, He obliges.
Now, let's look at Zachariah in Luke:1:18-20 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” Zachariah is a priest and someone who knows the Lord very well (Luke:1:6) and certainly He isn't at an infant stage when it comes to his relationship with GOD. Not only that, he had been praying for a child and when Gabriel says that the Lord is going to answer his prayers, he requests for a sign. Gabriel wasn't impressed and he makes Zachariah go speechless until the promise gets fulfilled. As a priest, the Lord expected Zachariah to have faith that doesn't require a sign to believe. After all, the Lord is promising about doing something which He had done before. Letting an old couple, who were well past their child bearing age, have a child - Abraham and Sara! But, what was going to happen to Mary, a virgin having a child, has never happened before and that's why we see Gabriel explaining and not rebuking Mary when she asked how is that possible? She is the first, in fact the only one who went through such an unique experience and hence she was reprieved.
The passage that we have taken from Isaiah talks about the Lord willing to show Ahaz a sign, whatever it maybe, so that he will believe. To summarize, the Lord behaves differently with each individual and it varies according to the level of faith He/she is living with. It includes getting a clear sign from Him. It varies from person to person and there is no rule book on it. We have to be sharp enough to see His signs and follow it. (Matthew:24). Don't ask for a sign if you are not going to follow it. While He may give you a sign when you are at the beginning of your relationship with Him, don't expect it from Him every now and then as you grow in Him. There is an element of trust that He expects us to have in Him. When trust is involved we will do what He says without waiting for a clear sign.
Blessings!
The passage that we have taken from Isaiah talks about the Lord willing to show Ahaz a sign, whatever it maybe, so that he will believe. To summarize, the Lord behaves differently with each individual and it varies according to the level of faith He/she is living with. It includes getting a clear sign from Him. It varies from person to person and there is no rule book on it. We have to be sharp enough to see His signs and follow it. (Matthew:24). Don't ask for a sign if you are not going to follow it. While He may give you a sign when you are at the beginning of your relationship with Him, don't expect it from Him every now and then as you grow in Him. There is an element of trust that He expects us to have in Him. When trust is involved we will do what He says without waiting for a clear sign.
Blessings!
No comments:
Post a Comment