"And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”" - Luke 16:30-31
I'm not going to pretend my ways are perfect, nor that they have ever been. It would be almost hypocritical of me to tell someone they should go to church, as I myself have often struggled with this. But it's not entirely my fault. I suffer with a disorder called chronic fatigue, which makes attending church, or indeed anything, very difficult.
But historically, this has been more of an excuse than a reality. My church met in a much closer building, and had services in both the morning and the evening, so the fact that I missed almost every service in 2017 is a bit of a black spot on my history. But before 2018, I asked the Lord for a sign that I could push past my disability. If He wanted me to attend church, He should wake me up at exactly the right time, and supply me with all the energy I needed to go to church. This, I reasoned, would be my sign that I would overcome my illness, and so should even push past the pain on my worst days.
The result? I woke up to find I had missed church entirely. The Lord did not wake me up, nor give me energy, as I had asked. But He did give me a sign. It was not the sign I had asked for. Instead, I opened one of my reading plans on the YouVersion app, and read "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25).
I did not need some miraculous sign to fight my illness. The entire time, I had everything I needed. I had a command from God in Scripture (do not forsake the assembling together with other believers). I have a promise that temptation to sin by forsaking said fellowship is not from God (James 1:13-14). I have a promise that with temptation, God always gives a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). Why would I need some miraculous sign that, for a whole year, I should fight my disability, when I have the word of God telling me I should have been doing it all along?
In today's world, we often ask God for signs, but out of selfish motives. In my case, it wasn't entirely selfish. I just wanted to know He would give me the strength I needed to overcome my disability. But far too often, we even ask God for permission to sin! And Lord knows, I've done that too.
But ask yourself, how often do you pray for permission to sin? "Lord, are you ok if I steal this item?" You don't need to pray to know if theft is ok, the Bible says "“You shall not steal." (Exodus 20:15). Yet, somehow, this seems to be the only commandment I can use to make this example. So many people these days pray to ask God for permission to abort because "I'm not ready for a baby", to sleep with their boyfriend/girlfriend because "well we're in love, we just can't afford to get married yet", to avoid correcting obvious heresy because "well they still believe in God".
Imagine if someone treated you this way, constantly asking if they could do something you strongly disapprove of, then doing it anyway because they think they have your implicit consent. For example, how angry does it make you when you lend someone your phone charger, then ask for it back, and they ask "what percentage are you on?" It's your charger. You have the right to take it back whether your battery is fully charged, or as flat as a pancake! Well God's law is a fair bit more important than a phone charger. When you ask for consent to break it, and especially if you're going to interpret some "sign" that He has said yes, you're insulting Him.
Thus, let Scripture be your sign. Signs can be interpreted as one desires, but Scripture is as clear as the words on its pages. When it says "thou shalt not", God will never send you a green light. When it says "thou shalt", God will never send you a sign telling you otherwise. Therefore, let us cease this silly pursuit of "signs" and just let Scripture speak. Once we have learned it, let us obey it.