And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger (Luke 2:10-12). Notice the angel said, “This shall be a sign unto you.”

The Lord uses signs to reveal His will to people, but so many people don’t look for His signs or even believe in them. When the angel announced Christ’s arrival, he didn’t say, “A child has been born, and you will have to do the best you can to find Him.” No. He said, “Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

So many people today are wandering around in darkness because they do not believe in the signs of God. As a child of God, you must not be one of them because when the Lord calls you to do a special work for Him, He will give you at least one sign or maybe more.

For instance, when God calls a person to preach, He will give them a definite or unusual sign to confirm that calling. If a person thinks they want to be a preacher, they need to wait on God to see if that is what He wants for them as well. He will give them a sign and a definite confirmation. Without that, they will not be preaching in God’s will or with His anointing. A big problem with many churches today is that their ministers are trying to preach without the anointing of God. They may have studied at a seminary or Bible college for years, but they are still lacking if they are not truly called of God and carrying His anointing.

Signs of Salvation

Jesus told of the signs that would follow His true believers saying, And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues…they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mark 16:17, 18).

God will use true Bible believers today to bring about marvelous things; so if you are a real child of God, there will be signs of your believing. Unfortunately, there are people who have claimed to be Christians for many years, but they have never had any signs of anything miraculous happening for them or through them.

When I got saved, there were signs of my salvation. I didn’t talk the same or go to the same places. I didn’t do the worldly things I used to or keep company with the same people. One thing that surprised and even confused me was that I had a burden I had never had before. I had always been taught that when you got saved, all your burdens rolled away; so why did I have such a burden? After a few days had passed, the Lord showed me that He had taken my burden of sin and given me a burden for the lost. Every child of God must have a burden for lost souls.

Wait on God

If you follow after God with your whole heart, He will give you signs of that. He will make Himself real to you and show you His way, but you have to wait until you definitely know what the Spirit of God wants for you. The Bible says, Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee (Psalm 37:34).

God will always reveal His will to those who wait on Him, but so many people either run ahead of God or lag behind. Then they stumble and fall and blame God for it, and that is exactly what the devil wants. He wants people to fail, be discouraged and give up.

Jesus did not get ahead of God’s will when Lazarus was dying even though everyone thought He was too late. Lazarus’ sister Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died (John 11:21); but Jesus told her, Thy brother shall rise again (John 11:23). And that is exactly what happened. It was miraculous, and Jesus wasn’t too late!

There will be times in your life when you too will think God is too late in answering your request, or He is not interested in your problem; but if you are living holy before the Lord, you have to get rid of those thoughts. As you continue to wait on God, He will move in His way and in His time. If you hold on to the wrong thoughts, you will hinder God from moving. People can preach that to you and testify about it, but it is a lesson you have to learn by experience.

Walk God’s Way

Don’t walk in darkness, doubt and fear. Seek God until you know what He wants you to do, and you see His signs in your life. If you have any doubt, just wait; and God will reveal Himself. The Word says, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD (Exodus 14:13). But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

When problems come, some of you may pray a little; but when the Lord doesn’t answer when you think He should, you jump in and try to solve it yourself. Then you make a mess and wonder why God let things happen that way when He had nothing to do with it. You did things your way without waiting for a sign from God or for His answer.

God will make the way for you and direct your path, and His way is always the right way no matter what you think. The Bible says, O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps (Jeremiah 10:23). So many lives are ruined and many marriages are failing because people will not let God direct them. The Lord doesn’t want to make people miserable; He wants to lift them out of their troubles and load them down with physical, spiritual and financial blessings.

Signs in Moses’ Life

You will find signs of God in the lives of saints found in the Bible. Moses wasn’t sure whether or not he was really the one who should go before Pharaoh to convince him to let the Israelite slaves go because he didn’t think Pharoah would believe God had spoken to him. And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand (Exodus 4:2-4). The Lord gave Moses that sign and others as well.

When Moses was standing before Pharaoh, God used that same sign again; but then Pharaoh’s magicians threw down their rods, and they became serpents too. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods (Exodus 7:12). The devil always tries to counterfeit God’s signs, but they are never exactly the same; and God is always more powerful than the devil.

I’m sure the signs God gave Moses gave him great confidence in the Lord. At times, it looked like Moses’ confidence and faith would waver as God was pouring down the different plagues on the Egyptians; but each time, he would reach out to take hold of God’s signs and march on. God was with Moses, and God’s signs were upon him.

More Signs from the Word

Gideon had asked God for a sign that He would deliver the Israelites from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him [Gideon], and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour…Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites… thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man (Judges 6:12,14,16). That angel appeared just as if he were a person.

After that great sign, Gideon knew God would lead him and the people forth to have a great victory. Yes, his faith was severely tried along the way; but when you have the signs and the anointing of God, you don’t have to worry about doing what God asks you to or believing God will do what He says He will do. That’s why every true child of God must live in God’s anointing in this final hour.

The Lord told the Early Church disciples that if they would go to Jerusalem and tarry, the sign of God would be upon them. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1-4). What a sign that was! And God did amazing things through those disciples.

Don’t Let the Devil Steal Your Sign

Samson had the anointing of God in his life. A great sign of God was his long hair; and as long as he didn’t cut it, God gave him amazing strength. At one time, he killed a thousand men with just the jawbone of an ass. Unfortunately, Samson allowed himself to be seduced by Delilah. Then the Philistines cut his hair, and his great strength was gone. He had let the devil steal his sign and his anointing.

When your anointing is gone, you’re no good to God anymore; and that’s why there are so many so-called Christians today who are no good to the Kingdom of God. They have no signs of God in their lives, and their anointing is gone. How pitiful!

You don’t have to rob a bank or steal a car to lose out with God. It’s the little things that matter with God—going to church, spending time with the Lord and His Word, praying, fasting and obeying His calls. When you stop doing the little things, you will eventually stop doing bigger things and then lose out with God completely.

Live in the Anointing

You never have to be afraid of following the signs God gives you as long as you know they are coming from Him. They will let you know you have been set apart to do something special for Him; and when God calls you on a special mission, you will always be able to accomplish it no matter how complicated things may seem. Pray in the anointing of the Lord, and believe God will direct you and work for you. It’s a miserable life without the signs and the anointing of God.

So many preachers today are discouraged, and some are leaving the pulpit while others are just waiting for the day they can retire. Why? Because they don’t have the anointing of the Lord like they should. When a person is called of God and has His burden for the lost, they would rather preach than do anything else.

The devil does all he can to get people out of God’s will and away from the divine anointing. The devil will distract you to keep you from praying, fasting and studying the Word; but those three things are the secret to reaching God and being what He wants you to be. People make it seem so complicated to reach God when it’s really very simple. You just have to be willing to follow what the Lord says.

Follow Jesus All the Way

You have to follow in Jesus’ steps; and when you do, you will live in God’s anointing and see His signs in your life. Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps (I Peter 2:21). You may say you don’t know how to follow Him; but when you have the Holy Ghost living within, He will direct and guide you in the way you should go. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth (John 16:13).

It’s not always easy to follow the Lord and do His work, and there will be times when you don’t feel like praying or reading the Word; but you must never give in to what the flesh wants. As long as you are in your human body, you will have to battle against the flesh and Satan; so never let down your guard.

You must never think you are so strong in the Lord that Satan can’t tempt you. The devil will try to make you think you can never backslide, but that’s not so. David, Samson, Solomon and other great men of God who had so much power with Him backslid and lost everything; and so can you. That’s why the Bible says, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8).

You must always be very careful in everything you say and do. Ask the Lord to help you never to say or do anything that would tarnish your anointing or keep the blessings of God from flowing in your life, but you must first be a child of God.

If you are unsaved today, you will not have any real signs of God in your life, only counterfeit ones; and they will always lead you into trouble. If you want to have a clear path of peace, joy and blessings and see God manifest Himself in your life, say the sinner’s prayer found on page 6 of this magazine and begin a new life in Jesus today. Nobody has ever loved you like Jesus loves you, and nobody has ever cared for you like Jesus cares. God bless you today.