Just Give me a Sign

On Saturday, Himself and I drove to Ocala to watch Evangelin in concert. They did a great job! There were several bands playing that day, but really, we only wanted to hear them. We didn't stay long after they were finished.

On the way there, we read Psalm 73 aloud to pass the time (and since I heard Pastor Hoffmann was preaching on it on Sunday). It led to a great discussion on faith.

If we look simply at the physical world, it's easy to wonder why we bother being Christians. As in Psalm 73, it seems that people with no morals or regard to God are prospering. It seems they have it easy, live in rich homes, take month-long vacations, and drive whatever they please. They don't care about God or trying to live as if eternity matters. They lie, cheat, and steal, and come out smelling like roses.

As Christians, we're called to live according to God's word. This means we make choices daily to do the right thing (though we're not perfect, and we certainly make the wrong choices often enough!) and it sometimes comes at a cost. When Himself was working as a painting contractor, he had to literally make the choice to either cheat with migrant labor to go after the big jobs, or stay a one-truck painter and never be able to support his family. He decided to quit self-employment and use his talents elsewhere.

This meant saying goodbye to the dream of landing big contracts and making lots of money. We see contractors who "cheat," and they're living in beautiful homes, driving beautiful cars, making lots of money, but they're doing it at the cost of conscience.

Actually, their consciences are fine. They don't care about right or wrong, just the bottom dollar.

When Himself began working for others, he had to die to his independence. He had to humble himself and put himself under the authority of others. He was no longer strictly his own man. However, God rewarded his decision by leading him to his current company. We are so blessed! Every need is met (not every WANT, every NEED), a company car is provided, and for the first time in our married life we have insurance. Wow. I hardly know what to do with regular physicals and check ups!

We may have died to big money dreams, but God has more than blessed us with peace and contentment.

Still, there are times when we watch others prosper and we think, "What if this is really all there is? What if God isn't real?" I think all believers have had that thought at one time or another. On our drive to Ocala, Himself was expressing this and he said, "If only we could see some kind of sign sometimes. If only God would let us know the truth in an undoubted way."

He no sooner finished speaking when we saw this:




We laughed so hard! Here's the writing in the sky! Here's the proof, the sign we were asking for.

Actually, Himself is proof enough that God is real. No one, and I mean no one, can change the way he has changed (or the way I have changed) without God. Only God can change hearts. Only God could give us the peace that passes all understanding as we walk with Him daily. Only God could give us this joy! Only God could write a book so amazing, so complex, and yet so perfectly proven through history.

Creation, also, is proof enough that God is real. One cannot study the complexity of biology without knowing someone had to design everything to work together perfectly. There's simply no way all of this could just "happen."

How do you know God is real?