Corona Devo 1243

Are we looking for "a sign" from God-- to give us the direction we need or the choice-to-choose?

I sometimes do.

Even though I know it's a bit faithless (asking God to prove Himself), or a bit pridefull, demanding something from God (because He owes us nothing).

But (right or wrong), we still sometimes ask Him for a sign.  And once in a while...He gives us one.

God gave Gideon a few signs.  Gideon had the guts (gall?) to ask for a number of signs from God, and (graciously enough), God obliged.  

Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, (37) prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” (38) And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water.  

(39) Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.” (40) So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew.  ~Judges 6:36-40

~~~

I can't say that wet and dry fleece happenstances are run-of-the-mill in our lives.  The truth is, I feel unworthy "putting God to the test", and so I rarely ask.  That's not how faith should work...

Or is it?  It worked that way for Gideon.  But also, Gideon had the guts to ask God.  I usually don't.

But if we do, we had better have the faith to back up God's answer.  

~~~

This week, our son asked God for a sign.  He had just spent his "best week of summer" at a church conference, and I knew/sensed/felt-spiritually that God was working in Him while he was there, and when he came home, I had that fact confirmed through his stories, his experiences, his faith.

But the end of one week of camp brought the start of a new week of camp for him, and this one (and the group it was for), our son was not sure that he wanted to be a part of.  Actually, due to other commitments during the year and a lack of his full-buy-in, he was pretty sure that he didn't want to be a part of this group.

So...he decided to talk to God about it.  And he had the guts to ask God for a sign.  

When he (later) told me the story, I thought..."You had the gall to ask God for a sign?"   

Yep, and God graciously answered Him.  

~~~

Picking him up after nine hours of camp on Day one (of five!), he hopped in the car and seemed energized rather than depleted, and at peace instead of stressed.

When I asked how it went, he told me a few things and then said that he is definitely sticking with the camp...and the group.  I could tell that he had made a decision and felt good about it.  I could see that on his face and sense it in his spirit.     

"I asked God for a sign", he told me.  "I didn't know if I should join this group, so I told God that He would have to tell me what to do, and that I would need a clear sign."

For nine hours that day, they learned material that they will practice and use for the year, and they also discussed and studied their "theme" for the year.  As the "theme" discussion wrapped up, our son asked the advisor if she felt that a summation of their theme could be "To Know and Be Known"?  

"Yes, that is exactly what our theme is", she said.

It was a brand new "theme" to the group that day, but not to our son.  He had spent the last seven days (prior to this camp) at a church camp...and the theme had been: "To Know and Be Known". 

Our Heavenly Father knows us. 

All we want is for someone (sometimes we will take anyone) to know us.  To care about us.  To listen/see/accept us.  To love us.  

Our Heavenly Father does.  In Him, we are known.  And once we know that, then we can share that amazing news with others, and they too can be known by Him.  

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.  God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.  ~I John 4:16 

This was the "verse" of the week for the church conference (I John 4:16 ), and "To Know and Be Known" was the theme.  

Our son had the guts (or gall) to ask God for a sign, and he feels that God graciously gave him one.  The first camp was full of Christians...they want To Know and To Be Known.  His second camp is not full of Christians, and they too want To Know and Be Known.  

What if we had the guts to ask for a sign...and got one?  And then we had the faith to share God with others so that they could know how much He loves them.

It will take guts, but we have the faith to back it up.

Blessings, 

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com