Well, you did ask for a sign
Did you know that God is a God of signs? No, not roadsigns! Our God leaves little sign posts and clues all over His world, and His Word which point back to Him.
Just a few examples…
God did it when Jesus was born in Bethlehem - which means ‘the house of bread’ or ‘bakery’. It was no coincidence that Jesus said He was the bread of heaven.
God did it when He told Noah that the rainbow would be a sign, a reminder, of His covenant with the whole earth.
God did it when He sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost - to point the the fulfilling of the law,
God did it when Jesus died on Passover week - representing the passover lamb who died.
Time after time, God spoke through situations. Sometimes the disciples had no idea what Jesus was referring to, but later they understood. They got it in the end.
We often say that we want to hear God speaking to us, but we rarely make the space for Him to speak. God’s Word is a signpost for us to God, showing us clearly who He is and His desire to have a relationship with us, and how that has been made possible through His son, Jesus. But God also speaks to us through other ways, never ways which will contradict His word, but that will shine light on His Word. God will use circumstances, our thoughts, other’s encouragements and words, His creation, songs… to talk to us and point us towards His Word and ultimately to Him.
Being out in creation this month has been a great way for God to speak to me in fresh ways for me. Nothing He has told me is fresh revelation in the sense of it being something extra to the Bible, but He has used creation to highlight certain truths and promises and aspects of His character which can also be found in His word. He has used the waves to speak to me of His faithfulness. He has used a horse galloping on the shore to talk to me about His freedom and dreams. He has used flowers to remind me of heaven and shells to remind me of His personal love for me.
As I headed out to the beach for the third day in a row last week I was struggling to feel that God would have something fresh to share with me. Where I live there are very limited accesses to nature - within an hour’s walk of our house the choice is basically the beach or a park. There aren’t any fields etc within immediate access. So I was wondering if I was going to get bored very quickly of the beach vs. park option for the month of September. (I have actually found the opposite - I have fallen in love with walking in the same places!). That day, as I dropped Kaleb at preschool and started on the walk back home via the beach, I prayed God would speak to me in a personal way through creation. This was my hesitant prayer: ‘I don’t want to test you, God, but I really want you to speak to me in a personal way today. Would you give me a personal sign?’
Before I arrived at the beach I came across a flower bed full of flowers. They were flowers I had planted in my garden after Solomon died and those flowers symbolize heaven for me. They made me wonder if this was God’s personal sign to me. I wanted to believe it was, but they weren’t quite the same as the ones I had. I looked in all the flower beds nearby but there weren’t any that were. I still felt that God has part answered my prayer, but I wasn’t completely satisfied. I carried on my walk, reaching the beach and still had a good time meeting with God there before I arrived home. I guess it was a silly request anyway. I wondered about it as I went to collect Kaleb from preschool but felt grateful for the time I had had with God on the beach in the morning and didn’t want to make God do anything or try and make something up myself.
On the way back from preschool, however, Kaleb and I took a motor taxi to the entrance of the area it is in. As we got out, Kaleb first, he suddenly exclaimed:
‘Look, Mummy! Look at these beautiful flowers!’
I looked down, and you’ve guessed it, those same flowers, this time open and exactly like the ones I had had in my garden were there. The ones that remind me of heaven. I smiled and loved that God even pointed them out audibly in the voice of my son - it was if He was saying: “Look! Look here! See! Here is the sign you asked for! I love you AND I pointed it out to you! Stop doubting my personal love for you!”
“...many people noticed the signs (Jesus) was displaying and, seeing they pointed straight to God, entrusted their lives to him...”
So what I am increasingly finding is that where I thought I was going out in creation to meet with God, He actually has been waiting there for me. God desires to meet with you, He already has things laid out to show you. Will you find time to go outside and meet Him in creation this week? Let me know how you are meeting with God in creation this month - I would love to hear your stories!
This September is a month where I am intentionally getting outside into creation to meet with God. It is part of a year long embracing of grace through different spiritual disciplines. You can read more about the year here, and more about this month's focus on creation here.
