July 29, 2011

Signs

And God desires that we grow in our ability to see Him in everything and to realize the importance of seemingly insignificant circumstances if they are used to deliver a message from Him....The world says that "seeing is believing," but God wants us to believe in order to see. The psalmist said, "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Streams in the Desert, L.B. Cowman.

This quote from Psalm 27 reminded me of the many signs God has used to convey His messages to me, messages of love encouragement, hope, and comfort. Lilies, alluding to Luke 12: 27, Consider the lilies of the field, and Psalm 27:13-14 were the among the first of the repetitive signs. Gradually this list expanded to include Psalm 37, especially verses 3-5: Trust in the Lord and do good, and dwell in the land, and thou shall be fed with its riches. Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of your heart. Commit thy way to the Lord, an trust in him, and he will do it, and the song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, along with rainbows themselves. Over a span of years, just the numbers representing the Psalms, pictures or references to lilies, and any form of rainbows symbolized and reminded me of His promises and past miracles.

On one occasion, my husband and I were desperately house hunting in a new town in a new state. We had a U-Haul filled with furniture and only three days left before we were to return the truck or face additional fees. A mistake appeared on our credit report, damaging our credit score, which in turn impacted the decision of the property managers we contacted. The time restraint would not allow us to rectify the error before qualifying for a home. I prayed, or should I say, begged God for a miracle.

We followed up an ad for yet another house, actually the better of all the others in the same price range. However this time, when I looked at the address, 2837, I knew we would be approved. We received the keys two hours after filling out the application.

I have already mentioned in other posts how lilies and the song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, have announced upcoming miracles, solutions to other issues, or sometimes, as it has been recently, reminders not to lose hope when circumstance seem to be going in the opposite direction of His promise.

The appearances of these signs are always unexpected, and from an unusual source, such as my alarm suddenly playing Somewhere Over the Rainbow instead of its pre-programmed sound, or the post master giving me stamps with lilies instead of the Statue of Liberty at the last moment, or the number 37 appearing on a billboard entirely by its self just before an unexpected financial windfall.

I am not alluding to superstition, or indicating magic in these symbols. They are only signs, reminders of God's promises and compassion, sent to a struggling Believer when she needs that little extra encouragement. I never look for them, but remain vigilant in case one should appear.  The Bible is full of stories where God sent affirmations through signs, from Noah through the New Testament, and so it is nothing new or unusual.

Has God sent you repetitive signs, signifying and reminding you of His promises?

14 comments:

  1. Amen and Amen...I too have countless stories of God reassuring me...especially when it looked like there was no way! He can be so creative...just like Him.

    A teenage boy the other day had his phone reprogrammed by another boy..the other boy put in his number and the name Jesus...so when the first boy say who the call was coming from he froze...JESUS!!! He said, "well for a minute there it got me."...then we both laughed and said, "you know if God can use a donkey to talk to someone He can text or call us on our phone."

    There truly isn't anything impossible for Him.

    Hugs as you continue this journey..we have another bump that looks impossible, just finished the last one, so I can recount His faithfulness...but the flesh got a little sick....now I am watching for the signs.

    Good post!!!!!!!!!

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  2. Someone in my daughter's life has been on a destructive path. I had worked up the courage to write this person a letter and planned to mail it within the next couple of days. Well, this morning I went for a walk in a local park and there this person was having spent the night on a park bench. Oh, how God grabbed my attention. He had put this person on my heart and directly in my path. I was able to speak boldy, which is hard for me face to face. I am prayerful that something I said will yield something meaningful. I later drove my daughter's friend back home and am hopeful that God will do a new thing in this person's life.

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  3. Ah, Janette, what a great story! I love it. I pray your new bump is quickly downsized to a mere pebble, and you receive an abundance of signs that your next miracle is on its way.

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  4. Donna, it is amazing how God will lead to the exact place He wants us, and how important it is that we listen and respond. That young girl is very fortunate that you did listen and then responded to His urging. I pray for her and her family. As St. Paul put it, we/you plant the seed and then He waters it. Do let me know how her story ends...

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  5. Signs are very evident, for me it is the numbers 12,18 and 26. After an ugly divorce and finding an amazing man and getting engaged I lost him after 7 months to terminal brain cancer. I lived my entire life in Upstate Central NY, at the prompting of my eldest son I made a major change - I moved accross the country to Washington State. I lived with his family and our address was 1218. A few months later I met a sweet, kind man who later became my husband. His birthday is 12 18. I should also mention that I have 3 children whose birthdays fall on the 18th in various months. We got engaged on 3 18 and married on 6 26. I teased him he couldn't forget our anniversary because it was 6 months to the day from my birthday. He had the oddest look cross his face and said "your birthday is 12 26?" that was my first wife's birthday and you also have the same middle name: Marie. So yes there are signs, you just have to be looking for them no matter how subtle.

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  6. Yes, I can see how God has worked infinite signs and miracles in your life. Amazing isn't it? May he continue to bless your life inside and outside of the sorrows. Glad your story has a happy ending.

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  7. Isn't God awesome...dropping tidbits along the way for His children, signs and wonders, little surprises of grace strewn along our paths of searching?

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  8. So true, Lynn. I love the way you put it: tidbits, wonders, surprises of grace along our searching paths. Perfect imagery of a compassionate God.

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  9. So many times, I have repeatedly stumbled upon a particular verse or theme in one or two days. There's always a connection with my life situation at the time. Love those "God-incidences"!

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  10. Yes, Judith. He always knows exactly what we need when we need it. I love those moments too. All the problems melt away and I suddenly have the courage to move forward with deeper faith and trust - because He told me to.

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  11. You know, I can't say that there are particular signs of things to come, but there are many injections of God into my life through others that will still me for enough time to catch my breath when I am "running to stand still," so to speak. Most of the time, they are injections of laughter and love when my boys come up with some time-stopping declaration like the one I just wrote about in my blog tonight... God's perfect timing on www.comingupme23.blogspot.com ... lol that wasn't a teaser or anything ;0)

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  12. I love how creative God can be when He wants to show or tell us something.....I have had many occasions in my life where He used His power in surprising ways to encourage me or to get my attention....

    We definitely have a God that can't be put in a box....

    Hugs and blessings

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  13. Teri, those are the things I also count as signs, signs of His love. He uses various messengers to deliver His declaration of love. I'll skip on over and take a look at your post on God's timing. It is always perfect. Gotta run to work now, but will check it out tonight. Thanks for stopping and sharing.

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  14. Nancy, you are so right. He can devise attention getters beyond anything we can imagine. If only we could remember how much He loves us when we are tested, suffering and feeling afraid. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. Hugs and blessings to you as well.

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