Asking for a sign usually means that we, as Christians, want to see if it is something you want.  It’s like when you are in Target and you take the item to the price scanner at the end of the aisle.  You check to see if it is on sale.  The sale price means to you to buy it possibly.  You now have more knowledge by which to make your decision.

Now there is nothing wrong with being a good shopper, that’s a different story.  But when seeking God’s will it’s not about shopping but accepting.  A much smarter guy than me once said, “God doesn’t wait for you to deliberate but knows when you are ready to participate.”, Andy Stanley.

We, as human beings, long to see the hand of the divine moving in our lives.  Why?  Well, because it means we have a purpose.  It’s not all just a gamble on what happens.  It could mean to us that I am actually heading down the right road and that this life is making sense.  But for the majority of the time we want to see what’s coming so we can be prepared… OR, so we can run…

You see, that’s just it.  God knows that about us.  The joy in the unknown is this.  When we surrender to His purpose not for ourselves and our gain but for what He wants that is when we begin to fulfill our purpose.  We start becoming made (sanctification) in the likeness of His son.  Which, in the end, brings glory to God.  If we get to make the choices then that takes God out of the driver seat and puts us back in it.

If we are making the choices about our life then we are worshiping ourselves.  Who gets the glory then?  If we can honestly say things like, “I had no idea where my life was going”  then, God gets the credit.  If we start claiming that God was giving us signs so we can make a choice then that goes against God’s nature. God’s nature is to glorify Himself through His son.

So what about people like Gideon?  I can’t speak for him (he’s been dead a long time) but what I do know was that his family worshiped false gods and that our God was just one of the gods they worshiped. God’s actions in  the past as seen in the Exodus was always to show His power over other gods.  Possibly, just like Moses, God had to show which god He actually was.  So He uses Gideon’s request of a sign to once again establish His sovereignty.  That’s an educated guess to be discussed another day.

Here’s a verse for you to check out because I will finish this post later this week so read it ahead of time.

The Sign of Jonah

29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.

32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. Luke 11:29-32 NIV