God Gave Us A Sign, Will You Follow It?

It was as if the whole world held its breath awaiting the birth of its Savior. Men of old told how he would one day come down from Heaven and be born into this world to a virgin.

700 years before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah, the prophet recorded these words: 

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

Two things stand out to me in this passage. First, the idea of a sign from God. Second, that of a miraculous virgin birth.

“the Lord himself will give you a sign”

How many times have you asked God to give you a sign? 

The night that Jesus was born, when the angel appeared to the shepherds, the angel said something similar:

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah,the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  Luke 2:11-12

The sign we are looking and waiting for, has already come! He is Christ the Lord! 

And as for the miracle, how can it be? How can a virgin bear a child? It is only because of a miracle that this could occur.

A miracle is defined as “an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause. Such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.” (Dictionary.com)

The main ingredient of a miracle is divine intervention. There are times that our need is just so great that it goes beyond the capabilities of any human, and it is in these times that God must get involved. God must perform a miracle.

You see, the world was (and still is) in great need of help. The people in it had gone so far away from God that He needed to step in. 

Our God is faithful and He always keeps His promises. To prove this, He gave us a sign seven centuries before He fulfilled His promise.

Thousands of years after He created the world, God looked down on his creation, as I’m sure a father looks at his children, as they fought, warred, cheated, lied, stole, and killed. He shook his head. It was time. He had appointed godly rulers, He had sent His messengers to warn them, but it just wasn’t enough. The world needed more.

The world needed a miracle.

The world needed hope. 

The world needed peace. 

The world needed light. 

The world needed God to come down to earth, to walk among them, to experience what it is like to be human, to see that God loves them and just wants a relationship with them.

The world needed Immanuel, God with us.

He’s a father that just wants to be with His children, to do everything for them, to see them succeed, to see them love each other, to see them full of joy. What parent wouldn’t want that for their children?

So He did what He had to do. At just the right time, God sent His only son to earth, as a tiny baby, born to Mary, a virgin.

Charles Spurgeon said, “The birth of Jesus is the grandest light of history, the sun in the heavens of all time. It is the pole star of human destiny, the hinge of chronology, the meeting place of the waters of the past and the future.”

The miracle of miracles. No other divine intervention is more amazing, more supernatural, or more needed!

“The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.” – J. I. Packer

It didn’t stop there. Jesus performed many miracles during His time on earth. People still needed to see signs and wonders, as if his virgin birth wasn’t enough to make people believe He was who He said He was.  

And even still, they killed Him. They said He was a blasphemer (How can a man say he is God? ) So they nailed Him up on a tree like a criminal. They brutally tortured Him until His human body could take it no longer. He took his last breath and the heavens broke open.

But the story doesn’t end there! Remember, this is God we are talking about. First, He knew this would happen, and second, it’s all part of the plan.

This is when the second greatest (maybe even equal to the first) miracle happened. Three days after He died, Jesus rose up from death and walked out of the tomb where they had placed Him! (I just got chills, did you?)

You see, you can’t stop God! Are you seeing a theme in this series? God is greater than anything here on earth. After all, He created the earth and everything in it (another miracle, by the way), including you and me.

This means that there is absolutely nothing, NOTHING, that is impossible for God. He is the great miracle worker and if your life is so out-of-control crazy that the only solution is divine intervention, then that’s what you will get.

Humanity is on a path that leads to destruction, but through the birth of His son, God has stepped down to earth, He has given us a sign and clear instructions by way of His Word, to follow Him in faith. 

Friend, I want you to understand something – God, Himself, does not cause harm and calamity to fall on us. God does not make bad things happen. God is our rescuer. God is the one that wants to save us from evil, and He sent His son to do just that! 

If we deny Him and reject Him and choose not to follow Him, we are choosing to not be rescued, and we are choosing to figure it out on our own. 

If you were drowning in a flooded river, would you deny help from someone reaching down to save you and pull you up out of the water? No, on the contrary! You would grab ahold of that hand and let them pull you to safety. 

God has sent His sign and He has fulfilled His promise. The rest is up to us. Will we let Him rescue us?

If you feel like God is just letting you drown, even though you’ve grabbed ahold of His hand, realize that He’s there! He won’t let you drown! He won’t let you sink. 

In the same chapter of Isaiah, where he described the sign of the Savior, it says, “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart…. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” (Isaiah 7:4-9)

Even when you think you’re alone, He is there with you. He is standing beside you; maybe He’s carrying you, and many times, without you ever knowing, He has gone up ahead of you, and prepared the way for you.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs‬ ‭3:5-6‬ ‭

Miracles are happening all around us. Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not real. If you feel like you’re in a situation that is beyond your capabilities, pray and ask God for a miracle.

Oh, and one more thing. When Jesus rose from the dead, that wasn’t the final miracle, that wasn’t the last chance for the world to be saved. No, that was just the beginning! We are living in the season of miracles, and there is one more miracle that is yet to be done!

Jesus will return one day, and all those that believe him will be taken from earth up to Heaven with him. It is at this time that the work of God will be done. That is why it is so important that you turn to him now, because we don’t know when God will decide enough is enough. We don’t know when he will send his son one last time. So we must be ready!

“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew‬ ‭24:44

I pray that you experience the supernatural power of God’s divine intervention in your life. If you haven’t already, maybe it’s time. 

Maybe today is the day that you say, “God, I need you. Please fill me with your love. Please work your miracles within me. Please come into my life and change me.” 

Consider this your sign. 

It is because of God’s love for you, that He sent His one and only son to die for you, so that you may be rescued from this cruel world, and instead have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

If this is what you want and need to do, and you want to talk to someone or if you have questions, I’d love to talk to you! Please reach out to me by any means (IG, email/contact, or text if you know me personally).

Thank you, God, for being such a loving and caring God, that you are so aware of our desperation for a savior that you sent us your one and only son, in the form of one of us, fully human, yet fully God. We needed you then and we need you now more than ever. Amen.

To follow the whole series of Journey to Christmas, click here: https://jenniferjabbour.com/the-journey-to-christmas-advent-series/