“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” Matthew 12:38

You can see signs everywhere. Road signs tell your parents how fast they can drive, when to stop, which way to go, and there are lots of signs for places to eat. Signs help us stay on the right road.

This sign is a warning sign that bears may be nearby.

We have black bears in the woods around our home. We would come up and visit long before our house was built but never saw one. But if you looked very carefully in the woods, and you knew what to look for, you could see signs that a bear had been there. Bears love to eat bugs. One of the most common signs we find that a bear has visited nearby are overturned rocks. A bear will use its awesome sense of smell to pick rocks that have insects underneath. They flip the rock and eat as many bugs as they can.

Bears will also dig into dead and fallen trees for bugs. They will pull the tree apart and sometimes we are lucky enough to find a claw mark. Once in a while we actually see a bear paw print in some mud that they walked through. Bears will even eat yellow jackets and we have found the underground nests dug out and empty. We saw all these signs that black bears were here but never saw a bear (until we moved up to the house to live).

But just like the bears that we never saw, we can find signs that God is here with us even though we don’t see Him. The hugest sign that God is here is all around us, it’s the whole world that He created. What is your favorite creation of God’s? An animal, a plant, the stars, the sky, the ocean, the beach, the sun; all were created by God. But there are sometimes other kinds of signs as well. Sometimes our prayers are answered. A friend gets better after being sick. We get the teacher we wanted at school. Our mom makes our favorite food on a day we wanted it.

But I want to tell you a secret about God. Sometimes we don’t think our prayers are being answered and we get mad and think God isn’t listening. But the secret is that maybe God is just answering our prayer differently. God wants good things for each of us. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 God has a plan for each of us. He has a plan for you!

Meet Jake, he is mad because he wants very badly to be friends with Billy. Billy is so cool! He even told God about Billy’s birthday party this weekend and prayed that he would get an invitation. But Billy handed them out this morning to 10 kids in their class and Jake didn’t get one! He is mad. God just doesn’t listen, no matter what Mom says.

Jake is still mad on Saturday. He’s thinking about how much fun Billy’s party would be if only he could have gone. He stomps downstairs to get a soda and Mom is in the kitchen. “Sit down, Jake,” Mom says in her serious voice, “I know you’re upset, but things work out like they are supposed to. God has a better plan for you, you just have to wait, and you’ll see.” “Ok, Mom,” Jake says as he heads back upstairs.

On Monday, Billy isn’t at school. Neither is Dan, but no one seems to know why. Maybe they are sick. Jake’s Mom gets home from work and asks him to sit down. “Jake, Billy and Dan were playing after the party on Saturday. They started a fire in a neighbor’s garage. No one is hurt but they are in trouble. Billy will be sent to another school.” Jake can’t believe it, Billy was so cool! “Mom, why would they do that?” Mom sighed, “I don’t know, Honey. But you do see that God was looking out for you. You didn’t know it, but Billy wasn’t a good friend for you. God protected you.”

Jake didn’t have to wait long to find out that God did answer his prayer, but in a better way!

Sometimes we have to wait longer than Jake to realize that God has worked out a better plan for us than we could by ourselves. We just keep looking to God for His signs as He directs our paths.

This week talk to your parents about signs from God and then draw a picture of something, a sign, that let you know that God was with you.

Afterwards ask your parents to post your picture as a reply to this blog so that everyone can discover signs from God.