Someone mused, “Will God give me a sign?” That brings to my mind an illustration I heard several years ago. It goes something like this.
A serious flood surrounded a man’s home, and the water kept rising. At first, would-be rescuers came by the man’s home in a high-water rescue vehicle, but the man refused to go with them, saying, “I’m waiting for a sign from God.” Later, after the water got even higher, would-be rescuers came by in a boat, but again, the man refused to go with them. “I’m waiting for a sign from God,” he said. Then, the water rose so high that the man climbed onto the roof to avoid the floodwaters. Would-be rescuers came by in a helicopter, but once more, the man refused to go with them, saying, “I’m waiting for a sign from God.” Finally, the man drowned! Subsequently, in a conversation with God, he bemoaned that God hadn’t sent him a sign. God answered, “I sent you a high-water rescue vehicle, a boat and a helicopter, but you refused all three.”
The scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for “a sign” (Matthew 12:38). “But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah’” (Matthew 12:39 NKJV). Our Lord, then, proceeded to speak about the ultimate sign – His resurrection from the dead (v. 40). In verses 41-42, Jesus declared that sufficient signs had already been provided during the course of His ministry – which the Jewish leaders chose to ignore.
The “signs” forthcoming from Jesus have already been performed and have been preserved for us in the Gospel records. “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31). Beyond consideration of that passage and coupled with the cessation of Bible miracles, no miraculous signs will come to anyone today. Miracles had as their primary purpose the deliverance of divine revelation (i.e., the New Testament) and validation of the human vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7) through whom new revelation came in the first century (Mark 16:20). Once the New Testament epistles had been provided, miracles were no longer needed (1 Corinthians 13:8-12). Healing people, speaking in languages not learned, walking on water, raising the dead, multiplying fish and bread miraculously, etc. were side effects or physical manifestations to confirm the Word preached was divine in origin.
On the other hand, God’s providence is still active. Miracles were designed to be seen and to prove something, but providence is unseen and is not intended to prove anything. We are unable to confirm providence in our lives without divine revelation, which is unavailable. We can try to ascertain open and closed doors of opportunity and act thereupon.
