Should We Seek a Sign from God? 

I know someone who recently has been apartment hunting. She has been praying and asking others to pray that the Lord would give her guidance about whether to make this move, and, if so, about the specific place to live. As she toured one apartment that she had originally been inclined to favor, several aspects of it made her feel less positive about this option. She declared afterwards that she felt like it was the definitive sign from God not to take it when she saw a bug in the bathtub. Later, she found another apartment that was a little different than what she had first envisioned for herself.  Nevertheless, the more she considered it, the more she was overcome with a sense of peace about it, eventually securing it as her future residence.

 Signs from God can be tricky. Sometimes He graciously gives confirmation about His will for us. Such was the case with Gideon in the Old Testament. It wasn’t just the famous sign of the fleece that Gideon requested (Judges 6:36-40). Later God Himself actually volunteered to give Gideon a sign to calm any fears he may have had about battling the opposing army. He encouraged Gideon to go near the enemy camp and listen to what was being said. When Gideon did so, he heard one of the soldiers recounting a dream about how their camp was defeated. Another soldier interpreted the dream to mean that God had delivered them into the hand of Gideon. This sign from God encouraged Gideon as he went on to fulfill that dream and defeat the enemy.

However, we also know that on at least one occasion Jesus rebuked those who asked Him for a sign. Jesus responded, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign” (Matthew 12:39). One of the problems is that this request didn’t come from sincere seekers of God’s guidance. It was made by scribes and Pharisees who were more intent on testing Jesus and trying to make Him look bad. These religious leaders weren’t open and receptive to the divine revelation that a sign might provide. Jesus had already been giving them plenty of indications as to who He was through His miracles and teachings, yet they were accusing Him of being of the devil rather than of God. 

We don’t need signs from God about matters of which He has already spoken. Too often people ask God for a sign when the guidance they need is very clearly spelled out in the Bible. The real issue may not be that they don’t know God’s will but that they don’t want to accept it. You don’t need a sign from God to tell you whether or not to be faithful to your spouse or if you should refrain from some action that the Bible says is sinful. Neither do we need a sign to inspire us to love our neighbor, to put Jesus first in our lives, to share His Word, and to be a witness for the Lord. God has already directed us to do those things.

It can be helpful when the Lord gives us a sign confirming His will for us. However, let’s be careful about depending too heavily on such a phenomenon. God provides other means through which we can discern His direction in our lives, including the Bible, prayer, the Holy Spirit, the counsel of fellow believers, and that sense of His peace in our hearts.

Don’t insist on a sign when God has already made His will known to you. Be willing to follow His guidance, whatever it may be. Sincerely seek His will, and I believe one way or another He will reveal it to you and will direct your path, even if it is through a bug in a tub.