give me a sign!
South of the Border. The mere mention of the name elicits a response from the millions of people who travel down I-95 to southern destinations. For hundreds of miles, sign after sign touts the wonders of a place called South of the Border. If you traverse the highway enough, sooner or later, you must stop to see this traveler’s oasis.
Life is full of signs. Some provide direction, some, like “You Are Here,” provide assurance. Many signs warn us about danger. “Beware of Dog” is more than enough to keep me out of someone’s yard. I read a warning last weekend in South Beach that said, “Unattended children will be fed doughnuts and Red Bull. Please watch your child.” One small town provides this suggestion on the sign posted at the entrance; “Drive Slow and See Our City, Drive Fast and See Our Jail.” Outside of another village, the diamond-shaped warning states, “I’d turn back if I was you.” One of my favorites is a no trespassing sign that goes on to state, “No Trespassing – We’re tired of hiding the bodies.” Outside of a restaurant, the message read, “Give Me Coffee to Change the Things I Can, and Wine to Accept Those That I Cannot.”
Most of us find numerous situations in life where we desire a sign from God. We want some assurance that He is there and that He has concerns about our lives. It’s also nice to blame the Great Advisor if things don’t work out as planned.
The Israeli Judge, Gideon, is famous for requesting signs from the Almighty. As was often the case, God’s chosen people found Him too nebulous to maintain their attention, so they create their gods and goddesses out of wood and stone. This was a real no, no in the Creator’s mind. God has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to false signs of deity. Through a recurring cycle of idolatry, God allowed foreign, pagan nations to make slaves of the Israelites as punishment for their disobedience. After several miserable years, the insolent children started whining to God about their condition, at which time the Loving Parent sent someone to save them.
Gideon was one of those saviors. God sent an angel to call the young man out for the task. The winged warrior explained that God was with Gideon, to which Gideon retorted, “Pardon me, my Lord, but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” That’s a nervy comment to proclaim to a heavenly being. Gideon rationalized to the angel that he was from the “least clan of Manasseh” and that he was “the least in his family.” In other words, “Mr. Angel, sir, you have the wrong man.” When it became apparent that the angel was not taking “no” for an answer, Gideon said, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.” So, Gideon has an angel standing in front of him, giving him directions, and it’s not good enough. I wonder how many times God has given me a clear message, but since I didn’t want to follow directions, I demanded a sign?
God was patient. He provided several more miraculous guarantees proving the veracity of His calling upon the unconvinced warrior, the wool fleece request being the most memorable. Finally, God met His sign-quota, convincing Gideon to get on with it. Ultimately a small force of three hundred soldiers routed the vast Midianite army, and Israel was once again free, if only for a while. God had once again proven His love, patience, and power to His obstinate children.
Amazingly, the first action performed by the great war hero was to create a golden ephod from the spoils of the victory. The people immediately worshiped their new idol, and it became a “snare” to Gideon and his family. Oh, how often does that happen? God shows up in our lives, proves Himself faithful, and keeps His promises only to have his onery little brats go right back to the dumb stuff they were doing before He intervened. Been there, done that, have a closet full of t-shirts!
Signs only work if you follow them. Sometimes signs are so unusual that we forget the purpose of the signal - to point us to some person, place, or thing.
Jesus witnessed this dilemma many times throughout His ministry. The Teacher performed hundreds of signs and wonders during His three-year human tenure. The Gospel accounts repeatedly state that people were utterly amazed. Though the Miracle-Worker made it clear that the extraordinary events provided directional indicators towards His divinity, many onlookers missed the forest for the trees. Instead of embracing faith in the Christ, they wanted more of the miracle entertainment.
It is wise to pray most often for wisdom rather than signs and wonders. One needs much understanding to both perceive and correctly interpret signals from the Almighty.
There are two essential groups of signs in the life-path of every person - blessing and suffering. Either type of sign can either draw us to God or lead us away from God. Both are dangerously wonderful.
Famous writer, Fenelon, said, "When God blesses you remember to keep your eyes on him and not the blessing." It is easy to switch our focus, our direction, from God to the sign amid blessing and suffering. We become enamored with blessings and transfixed on pain and suffering. When our focus changes, we run to the signs rather than to the God who allows them. Running into signs is no fun and not very helpful. Following signs is profitable.
Blessing and suffering are two of God’s vital signs. Either variety is unmistakably God personally calling you to get off at His exit. When God places signs in your path - blessing, and suffering - keep your focus on where the signs point - God. Don’t switch focus away from your destination.
Ask God to show you how He is directing you through these signs. Listen for His voice. Watch for His presence. You’ll be glad you kept your gaze upon Him, not the benefit or the pain.
Even South of the Border is worth a look after all those signs.
