A Sign from God? How to Know if He’s Leading

This past week I hit a low. Several endeavors just weren’t working out. I’m a goal-oriented person; I try a lot of things. When a critical majority of them fail, I start to feel like I’m screaming into the void, that no one wants me, and that my ambitions should be mercifully put out of their misery like a horse with a broken leg.

There is a time for everything. Sometimes we should plough forward in our endeavors, and sometimes we should give up. I wasn’t sure which was called for in my situation. So, I prayed.

And I didn’t hear God’s voice.

The next day, I drug myself to Pilates class. As usual, instructor Sasha had me bending my body into pretzel shapes, working muscles I didn’t know I had. Then, in the middle of the lunge track, she semi-yelled something very impactful.

It kind of thudded into my breastbone:

“Push!”

But Sasha always yelled “push.” It was part of her job. Why the impact now? It almost seemed amplified, as if she had turned on volume ducking so that only the word “push” leapt out. Was this the Almighty speaking to lil’ old me through Sasha? It felt that way.

Back at home, my husband brought me a meditation before morning prayers. He read:

Take the word of Christ as your assurance. Has He not invited you to come unto Him? Never allow yourself to talk in a hopeless, discouraged way. If you do, you will lose much. By looking at appearances, and complaining when difficulties and pressure come, you give evidence of a sickly, enfeebled faith. Talk and act as if your faith was invincible. The Lord is rich in resources; He owns the world. Look heavenward in faith. Look to Him who has light and power and efficiency.

Christ’s Object Lessons, 146, 147

It was a real one-two punch. First the weird amplification of the word “push” in Pilates class, then the quote my husband just happened to find that morning. I concluded that God was telling me to stop moping and push forward in my endeavors.

Reason, Judgment, Counsel, and Conscience

But then I got to thinking about how we know God’s voice and realized that at times in my journey I have over-relied on signs and wonders.

I have sought the fantastical when God wanted me to appreciate the real.

I have prayed for God to write on the sky what He’d already written on my heart.

I have looked for wonders when God had already given me wonderful tools.

What I mean is this: God has given us the gift of imago dei. We’re made in His image with powers of mind and heart to reflect that fact. He wants us to use those qualities in our decision-making processes. If through Spirit-enlightened reason, judgment, counsel, and conscience, we come to a decision, we can say of a certainty that God led in that choice whether He gave us a sign or not.

Reason is the God-given ability to trace from cause to effect, and to problem-solve.

Judgment is the wisdom that comes from life experience, and our ability to weigh options.

Counsel is when we share with godly, trusted others to hear another perspective.

Conscience tells us right from wrong, informing our values and ethics.

Dogs and cats don’t have these gifts, only God’s image-bearers do. And we honor Him when we use them.

Sign-Seeking

Jesus said that “a wicked generation seeks after a sign” (Matt. 16:4). We must remember that Satan can work with “all power, signs, and lying wonders” (2 Thess. 2:9). In other words, miracles and signs can come from either supernatural source—God or Satan. We must submit signs to the test of Scripture or be led astray.

Some of us approach God’s will as if He’s a psychic with a crystal ball. We want Him to, through signs, tell us exactly what to do. But in doing so, won’t He be violating the very freedom of choice He died to secure?

God receives more honor when a free moral agent follows Him through intelligent choice than when a slave follows Him out of blind obedience. Let’s not make Him into a slavemaster by seeking signs and wonders for every decision. He made humans, not puppets. He gave us our smarts, and when we arrive at a decision by using them, we follow the Giver just as truly as when He chooses to give a sign.

But Sometimes God Gives Signs

I can’t biblically deny that He does, at times, give signs. He led Israel by a pillar of cloud and fire, not a board meeting. The urim and thummim revealed God’s will to the priest. The apostles cast lots to replace Judas. So yes, the Almighty’s arsenal includes signs and wonders.

Signs become necessary when our finite ability can’t possibly bring us to a sound decision. We are, after all, not God. Our reason, judgment, counsel, and conscience, even when Spirit-led, may be limited. Thank God for signs in those moments.

So when you hear “push” in Pilates, take it as a sign from God.

As long as it also makes sense.

Your thoughts? Leave a comment below.