Follow the Signs

"Oh, that You would rend the heavens!
That You would come down!
That the mountains might shake
at Your presence..."
-- Isaiah 64:1

"Lord, please just give me some sign. Show me what You want me to do. Prove that You really exist." At some point in our lives, we've all probably uttered those words, or something very similar. Usually in moments of desperation, when the weight of the world rests squarely on our shoulders, when our need is greatest. We beseech God to talk to us, to point us in the right direction, to make Himself and His plan known to us, to let us know that He does indeed exist and all our efforts are not in vain. Where is the burning bush, the spinning wheel, the manna from heaven, or even the angels appearing before us? Why can't You split the heavens wide open, cause the hills and the hearts of men to tremble, walk among us once again and remove any shred of doubt from all naysayers and nonbelievers?

Before our Father sent His Son to live and walk beside us, books in the Old Testament tell us that He spoke to people in a voice they could hear, gave them signs they could see, made known His power through acts unimaginable. While Jesus walked with us, and after His ascension while His closest followers still took breath, God showed His love and majesty through the Son and His workings of great and wonderful miracles. Christ also became teacher, with His instructions to all mankind recorded in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The God of power and the God of love, made known to man through various ways.

But what of today, how does God appear to us now? Some say God does not exist, or at least no longer cares, since He does not show Himself to modern man. But is it true that God does not appear to us or talk to us, or could it simply be that we don't stop long enough to see Him, to hear Him? Our modern world is such a busy place, our lives seemingly in constant turmoil. Our Father speaks to us softly, in the sound of a sleeping baby's breath, happily, in a songbird's trill, powerfully, in the roar of the crashing surf. He appears to us daily, in the face of the nursing home resident, the rainbow after a torrential storm, the very talents we ourselves possess. God is all around us, if we but use our heart's eyes to see and ears to hear.

Perhaps the most visible evidence of God in our day-to-day lives can be found in the acts of our fellow man, those we interact with frequently as well as those we may see once and never notice again. Oftentimes God works His wonders through us, His children, allowing us to help each other, letting His angels direct us to do His bidding. Please do not discount the tremendous comfort received from a friend as simply an act of kindness, but consider that it may very well be aid provided by the grace of our Father. Perhaps that tip your neighbor gave you about a home for sale when you were house hunting may have been whispered in her ear by an angel. Or maybe that raise you finally received at work was not entirely gained by your good work, but by the mercy of a loving Father who knew you needed help paying the bills.

If you have prayed and prayed for some form of relief - someone to complete your life and make you whole, a job to fulfill you, the health of your mother - and it one day comes to pass, please do not forget the One who was listening and who answered your prayers. It is usually too easy to think that kind acts come from people, or that our good works are recognized and rewarded by others, or that our talents are somehow a product of our abilities, when the truth is that all these come from God.

There will always come moments when our frustrations with ourselves and our fellows comes to a head and we scream to God to show Himself, to rend the heavens and cause the mountains to tremble before Him, just so we can show others His power, just to convince ourselves He still speaks and acts on our behalf, or, as Isaiah put it, "To make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence!" (Isaiah 64:2) But He need not go to such ostentatious extremes. He still speaks to us. He still shows us His presence. The signs are all around us, if we but stop long enough to see them. Follow the signs, and find God.