God's Sign Language

Genesis 18:1-2 

"And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat 

in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and 

looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw 

them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, 

and bowed himself toward the ground," 

     One of our desires as believers is to understand how God communicates with us. I'm sure all of us have been told by others, how they know when God communicates with them. Most of them probably said their communication with God was: A warm feeling would come over them, a confirmation through Scripture, a vision, a dream or just a gut feeling. However; throughout Scripture God used sign language. These signs were something that could be seen and were real.

    After God appeared to Abraham, three men, who we later discover are angels appeared to him as well. Later, those same angels appeared to Lot, Abraham’s nephew living in Sodom. When Hagar and Ishmael were banished from Abraham’s house and found themselves on the brink of death in the desert, an oasis appeared before Hagar and they were saved. Finally, just as Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac, he was told to stop and a ram appeared which Abraham sacrificed instead.

    In most of these stories, the appearance of a person or a thing was followed by immediate action. Abraham saw three travelers, so he ran to invite them in to be his guests. Lot did the same. When Abraham saw the ram, he understood that he was meant to sacrifice it to God.

But the story line changed somewhat when it came to Hagar. In her case, before the oasis appeared, God had to "open her eyes" (Genesis 21:19). It seems that not all appearances are apparent. Sometimes, we have to open our eyes to see them. 

    Imagine what might have happened if Abraham had not taken notice of the three strangers passing by his home? He never would have had his life changing encounter with those messengers of God. What if Hagar was unable to see the spring of water in the desert? She and her son would have surely died. Everything that shows up in our lives is sent to us for a reason. It’s up to us to open our eyes and read God’s messages.

    My Friend's consider what message God might be sending to us. Maybe there’s someone we can help, or a situation that we can address. What opportunities are present? Take advantage of them. What challenges do we see? They are there to help us grow.  God shows up in our lives every single day. The question is: Do we see Him?

 Amen!

Reading: Gen. 18, 21

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert Lail Sr.

The Cross life Ministry