For my rabbit-trail-following brain, one question that often surfaces during the Christmas season, has to do with asking God for signs. Is it okay to do that? Do we have it backwards when we ask for a sign before accepting what God has already said in his Word?
In the Christmas story from Luke chapters 1 and 2, first Zechariah and then Mary have questions. Zechariah served as a priest in the temple. He and his wife, Elizabeth, are described as “righteous before God,” but getting up in years with no children. While Zechariah is on the job burning incense, the angel Gabriel shows up and announces that Elizabeth will bear a son, to be named John. Zechariah’s question is, “How can I know this?” Gabriel answers that because he didn’t believe, Zechariah will be unable to speak until the prophecy is fulfilled.
Mary also gets a Gabriel visit, telling her she will become pregnant and bear the Son of God. Knowing she hasn’t experienced the usual process for making babies, she asks, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Gabriel answers that it will happen by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Luke tells us that both Zechariah and Mary were troubled and fearful when Gabriel showed up, but in most translations, their questions differ slightly: Zechariah isn’t sure whether to believe the news; Mary just wants to know how it will happen. The difference seems to be in the heart attitude: Zechariah, in spite of his righteous behavior and service in the temple, doubts the angelic message, while Mary does not.
In an Old Testament example, a heavenly visitor tells Gideon he will be used by God to defeat the invading Midianites. Gideon doesn’t appear to doubt the message, but he’s clearly fearful, evidenced by his hiding from the invaders to thresh grain. He asks not once, but twice, for a physical sign: Dew on a fleece but not on the surrounding ground, and then the opposite, with the fleece remaining dry. He wants to make sure he’s getting it right, but his heart seems willing to obey.
Another New Testament picture occurs after Jesus had begun his public ministry, when the Pharisees ask Him for “a sign” (Matthew 12). Problem was, there had already been signs, several of them, including miraculous healings. In their hearts, they didn’t really want to accept what they had already seen. Numerous Proverbs address the issue of the heart, as does Jesus after the Pharisees’ question.
In recent conversation with a “deconstructing” friend, I see the same issue. She says she will believe in God when He proves Himself on her terms. Dismissing the Bible as “a bunch of narcissistic stories,” she has her definition of what “a good God” should be doing, rather than honestly saying, “I want to believe, but I’m really struggling with some things I see around me.”
Jesus is okay with our struggles, evidenced by his conversation in Mark 9 with a man who cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” as he begged Jesus to heal his son. I don’t think He’s okay, though, with us elevating our own position by specifying the proof we want or not trusting the Bible. Like Mary, I believe God’s promises but sometimes have questions. It gives comfort to know that God is okay with my questions; He just wants to see a posture of belief and trust.
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