Don’t Seek A Sign!
God doesn’t always come with a shout; He doesn’t always come amidst blinding lights. This is why some people don’t recognize His Presence when He comes. A lot of times He just sets up little signs, and if you’re not desiring Him, you may not know when He shows up.
“And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13)
When God met with Elijah, great signs were manifested but God wasn’t in any of them; there was a great wind, an earthquake and a fire. God doesn’t always come with pomp and pageantry; He may just come to you in a most obscure and unusual manner. The important thing is to recognize His Presence however. Jacob had a dream and when he awoke, he said, “…Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.” (Genesis 28:16). He realized God had visited him while he slept and he didn’t even wake up! Don’t wait for a sign before you acknowledge the Presence of God. Always be prepared to receive from God every time and at anytime; that’s the winning attitude.
God doesn’t always come with a shout; He doesn’t always come amidst blinding lights. This is why some people don’t recognize His Presence when He comes. A lot of times He just sets up little signs, and if you’re not desiring Him, you may not know when He shows up.
“And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13)
When God met with Elijah, great signs were manifested but God wasn’t in any of them; there was a great wind, an earthquake and a fire. God doesn’t always come with pomp and pageantry; He may just come to you in a most obscure and unusual manner. The important thing is to recognize His Presence however. Jacob had a dream and when he awoke, he said, “…Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.” (Genesis 28:16). He realized God had visited him while he slept and he didn’t even wake up! Don’t wait for a sign before you acknowledge the Presence of God. Always be prepared to receive from God every time and at anytime; that’s the winning attitude.
Walk In Obedience
Obey God! Let us suppose that the thought of a bad habit comes to you. The pressure is so much on you to do that wrong thing; you might even go as far as the beginning stages of the wrong deed. But right there when you remember that you’re born again; a new person, you suddenly have the courage and boldness to shrug it off. Obey God! You see, being born again does not mean that wrong thoughts do not come to you but the point is you should not allow them to take a hold of you. Refuse them! Someone has rightly said, ‘you can’t stop birds from flying over your head, but you sure can stop them from building a nest there!’
You may not be able to stop these thoughts from coming to you because they are an outside force, but you can stop them from lodging within you. Don’t let the wrong thoughts lodge within you, don’t let them gain dominion or mastery over you. You can stop them by thinking on the right things instead (Philippians 4:8).
Suppose you were a stage artiste or performer and you were to play the role of a woman, though you’re actually a man. You would put on a woman’s dress and wig and perform and talk like a woman, but you won’t forget that you’re a man at the end of the act. You’d get off the stage and go back to the dressing room, change into your real clothes and walk down the street. When you set out to work on Monday morning, you won’t forget that you’re really a man. You’d talk like one and live like one. It would be ridiculous for you to go back to work talking and behaving like a woman, the way you did while acting on stage the other night.
The same thing applies to you now. You acted the wrong way before you were born again, but now you have a new life. That new life is the one you’re supposed to live now. You’ve been playing the role of a woman for a long time and sometimes you forget yourself and start acting like one. But then you remember again that you’re really a man and you correct yourself. You wise up and say, “Oh, I’m not a woman; I’m not on stage acting; I’ve got to be real!” That’s the way you should stop a bad habit. Say to yourself, “Look, I’m born again. That’s my real nature!” No matter the habit, when you remember (and you will remember), STOP! Say to yourself, “I’m born again! Stop it right there!” Don’t let the cycle of sin go on, and don’t be ashamed to tell anyone involved in it with you, “Oh, I’m sorry I can’t do this because I’m born again.” Get rid of bad habits by replacing them with good ones. Do this deliberately. Find out godly character traits from the Word of God and train yourself in them through practice.
Obey God! Let us suppose that the thought of a bad habit comes to you. The pressure is so much on you to do that wrong thing; you might even go as far as the beginning stages of the wrong deed. But right there when you remember that you’re born again; a new person, you suddenly have the courage and boldness to shrug it off. Obey God! You see, being born again does not mean that wrong thoughts do not come to you but the point is you should not allow them to take a hold of you. Refuse them! Someone has rightly said, ‘you can’t stop birds from flying over your head, but you sure can stop them from building a nest there!’
You may not be able to stop these thoughts from coming to you because they are an outside force, but you can stop them from lodging within you. Don’t let the wrong thoughts lodge within you, don’t let them gain dominion or mastery over you. You can stop them by thinking on the right things instead (Philippians 4:8).
Suppose you were a stage artiste or performer and you were to play the role of a woman, though you’re actually a man. You would put on a woman’s dress and wig and perform and talk like a woman, but you won’t forget that you’re a man at the end of the act. You’d get off the stage and go back to the dressing room, change into your real clothes and walk down the street. When you set out to work on Monday morning, you won’t forget that you’re really a man. You’d talk like one and live like one. It would be ridiculous for you to go back to work talking and behaving like a woman, the way you did while acting on stage the other night.
The same thing applies to you now. You acted the wrong way before you were born again, but now you have a new life. That new life is the one you’re supposed to live now. You’ve been playing the role of a woman for a long time and sometimes you forget yourself and start acting like one. But then you remember again that you’re really a man and you correct yourself. You wise up and say, “Oh, I’m not a woman; I’m not on stage acting; I’ve got to be real!” That’s the way you should stop a bad habit. Say to yourself, “Look, I’m born again. That’s my real nature!” No matter the habit, when you remember (and you will remember), STOP! Say to yourself, “I’m born again! Stop it right there!” Don’t let the cycle of sin go on, and don’t be ashamed to tell anyone involved in it with you, “Oh, I’m sorry I can’t do this because I’m born again.” Get rid of bad habits by replacing them with good ones. Do this deliberately. Find out godly character traits from the Word of God and train yourself in them through practice.
