Confirming the Will of God through Signs

When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
—Acts 16:10

Today we will look at three examples in the Bible where God used a sign to confirm His will.

One example is in Judges 6. Perhaps you have heard the expression “putting out the fleece” referring to setting up a test to determine God’s will. It comes from this story. God said to Gideon, “I want you to take an army and conquer the Midianites. But I want it to be a small group so that no one will doubt who did this great thing.” Before Gideon went on this suicide mission, he wanted to make sure it was God’s will. So he asked God for a sign. Look at Judges 6:36–37: “Then Gideon said to God, ‘If You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken, behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken.’” What happened? “When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water” (v. 38). God gave him a sign. But Gideon wanted another confirmation. “Then Gideon said to God, ‘Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.’ God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground” (vv. 39–40). Once again, God confirmed His will through a supernatural sign.

Now, some people say God stopped giving signs in New Testament times. Oh really? Turn over to Acts 1. After the defection and death of Judas, the apostles needed someone to fill Judas’ place. So they prayed for guidance. But notice what they did next: “They drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles” (v. 26). They took two stones and wrote the name of one candidate on each stone. Then they took both stones, put them in an urn, shook it up, and whichever stone came out first, that was God’s choice. That is how God spoke to the apostles to show them that Matthias was His will.
Other people say that since God’s Spirit now indwells our hearts, we do not need supernatural signs anymore. All we need is the Bible and the Holy Spirit. That would be true if it weren’t for Acts 16. In this chapter, Paul was on a missionary journey, but doors kept closing. So he was trying to decide what to do. Acts 16:9–10 says, “A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” God gave Paul a sign: a vision of a man saying, “Come this way.”

So in both the Old and New Testaments, God used supernatural signs to reveal His will to His people. Does He do the same thing today? Frankly, I believe God can do whatever He chooses to do. God cannot be put into any box we construct for Him. He can speak however He chooses to speak. The question is not, can God speak through supernatural revelation? The question is, does He do that today? And is it the most reliable way for knowing the will of God?

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Putting Out the Fleece without Getting Fleeced”” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2008.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.