Hope Grows

Have you ever asked God for a sign? If you have, have you felt like you were asking too much? Did you feel that you were overstepping your bounds by asking God to show up with a sign? There are examples in the bible where folks asked God for a sign, and he showed up. In Judges 6:36-40, Gideon asked God for a sign. Gideon placed a fleece on the ground and asked God to let the dew fall on the fleece so that it would be wet while the ground surrounding the fleece remained dry. God gave him exactly what he asked for.

How did Gideon respond? By asking God for another sign- to do the exact opposite and to allow the fleece to remain dry while the surrounding ground was wet. How did God respond to this second request for a sign? He did exactly what Gideon asked for. Later, in 2 Kings 20:8-11, God had promised King Hezekiah that he would be healed of a terminal illness. Hezekiah asked God for a sign- to have the shadow cast by a sundial to move backwards 10 steps. Hezekiah asked God to not only stop the world from turning, but to start it turning backwards.

I don’t know how that makes you feel but I may have cringed a little when I read and understood that passage for the first time. God showed up for King Hezekiah in a big way so that Hezekiah could have hope and know he had been spared. I’d like to share a story with you about a time I asked God for a sign. I needed assurance of his love and his hand in my life. God granted me that sign and then went above and beyond. Have you ever heard the phrase “under promise and over deliver?” Well, that’s not how God works for us. His promises are huge, and he never falls short and more often than not, he wows us with his delivery.

I’ve shared that I went through cardiac rehab after a panic attack had revealed a health concern. The rehab facility was located near the beach in Jacksonville, Florida. One of my rehab sessions happened to fall on my birthday. Birthdays are usually fun occasions for me, and I had planned to go to the Cheesecake Factory and celebrate with a small group of friends that evening. I wasn’t looking forward to it at all. Being in that place of despair, the last thing I wanted to do was spend an evening acting like I was enjoying myself when I felt so alone and empty inside. After my rehab session ended, I decided to take a walk on the beach.

While I walked through the fog of depression, I cried out to God. I wanted to know that everything was going to be OK. I wanted to know that the spark of hope that the Lord had made wasn’t going to die out. I prayed a very simple, almost childlike prayer. “God, I need to know everything is going to b OK. Can you show me a dolphin?” I have always loved dolphins, and I was at the beach so why not ask God for that sign?

After I prayed that prayer, I started scanning the horizon looking for dolphin fins. It was when I turned my head forward and started watching where I was going that I saw a group of people standing on the beach pointing at the surf. When I got closer, I was amazed. There was an entire pod of dolphins, and they were surfing! A dozen or more dolphins were catching waves, riding them to shore, and then hurrying back out to catch the next wave.

I knew then that God had heard my cry and had shown up in a bigger way than I asked for and he did it for me. Why? Because I’m his child. I asked for a sign, and he blessed my request, and I experienced joy for the first time in a very long time. This didn’t mark my exit from the wilderness, but it allowed the seed of hope that God had already planted in me to grow and I was able to celebrate my birthday that evening without faking the fun.

When have you asked God for a sign? How did he show up for you, his child?