Show me the Sign!

Scripture Read: Judges 6:17 So Gideon said to Him,  “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me.

Application: We read that, Gideon has been chosen by the Lord to deliver the Israelites from their enemies. Clearly, he does not have an intimate relationship with his God yet, he knows who He is and has an intellectual knowledge perhaps. History documented in the Scripture tells us, the generation before Gideon, did not do what they should've done. They did not keep their side of the covenant or promise with the Lord so they knew of the Lord intellectually, but not experiencially, in an intimate relationship. Gideon was therefore struggling with Who this “Angel of the Lord” is and what He can really do; because Gideon did not ‘know’ Yaweh.  However, he remained open, but his faith is immature, he is struggling with what he really believes is happening. Gideon asked the Lord “show me a sign” ~ SHOW me Your power that I’ve heard about.

First, let us not accuse Gideon of sinning because he asked for sign. God does not condemn Gideon for his request, so neither should we. On the contrary, Gideon’s name is read among the valiant men God used in what is often known as “The Great Hall of Faith”, in Hebrews 11:32  

“And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised.”

It may be easy and popular to make Gideon look bad because he initially walked by sight asking God to prove Himself, but we should tread careful when going beyond what Scripture states about him. There are other issues this passage raises:

* Is it wrong to ask God for sign? ~ Again, there may be passages that seem to affirm both YES & NO. The motive in any specific context is really what determines a right or wrong answer. So one cannot use Gideon  as a “proof text” to fit every circumstance or every individual that asks our Lord to prove He is real or is really leading them in a particular direction. That is disingenuous and not useful in this discussion. It's healthier to look at the principle that God teaches for us today in the New Testament. Speaking to this point, Paul, made it clear in his letter to the church of Corinth, how the child of God should move in their life: 2 Corinthians 5:7 

“for we walk by faith, not by sight”

Perhaps it would be healthier for us to envision what a mature child of God would act and do, then pattern our life after that, not a life seeking signs and asking God to prove himself. He has already done that, if we would only open our eyes. When we walk by faith we are telling God that we believe Him in spite of our lack of visual confirmation or of mental comprehension. We are not living with blind faith, because we know Who our God is; we are just refusing to allow our eyes to focus on the physical world and control our actions.

In some situations, I find it much healthier to step out in faith and then if my human frailty surfaces I will be like the father in the gospel of Mark  9:23–24:

And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”

In my personal relationship with the Lord, I have found He prefers me to try, and fail, than not try at all when it comes to matters of faith. Asking for “a sign” could cause us to walk by sight and make the flesh feel safer, but the spirit suffers and does not mature, and we do not grow to “know” Him.  (Strong’s # 03045 yada [pronounciation:yaw-daw], verb: know Him experientially, discern His presence in any situation). Oh father, help us to walk by faith trusting You instead of trusting our eyes!

Meditation Questions: When you step out in faith, what struggles do you deal with? Why do you think that is? What does that say about your faith? When was the last time you had to trust God? What did you go through? Was it worth it? Why? Would you rather be safe or grow? Can both exist at the same time? Why? Why not?