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4th January: A Token for Good

Show me a sign of thy favour. Psalm 86:17

There are barren times in the lives of all of us, when we long for God to reveal himself afresh, and show his hand. Maybe the pressures of work have drained us, or isolation from the Christian fellowship and worship we once knew has taken its toll. Bible reading has gone `stale', and prayer seems to get nowhere. In fact, we have almost lot the appetite for either. It is then that we long for God `to do something'.

But God does not reveal himself on demand. The requests of the Pharisees and Herod for signs and miracles evoked no response from Jesus except `No sign shall be given...' (Mt 12:38-39; Lk 23:8-9). In both cases they asked for the wrong reasons. We, too, sometimes want God to manifest himself, or give his gifts for a wrong reason, to assure ourselves or perhaps others of our spirituality. But our faith is too precious in the sight of God for him to accede to our request for a sign of his favour, by sending us exalted feelings or reassuring experiences, pleasant and uplifting as they may be (1 Pet 1:7).

But nevertheless God knows our weakness. He understands the dark tunnel with no light at the end, and has promised that we shall never be tempted beyond our strength (1 Cor 10:13). He will give us a `token for good' just when we need it, but often not in the way we expect or would choose. Elijah would have recognised God's presence had he manifested it in wind, earthquake or fire. Instead he came in `a still small voice' (1 Ki 19:11-12). He will reveal himself, often in little ways -- the split-second timing that is more than coincidence, a bad mistake averted, an unexpected turn of events, the gratitude of a patient for a trivial kindness, or the hint of unexpected fruit from a word of witness long forgotten. The Lord of hosts is with us (Ps 46:11) and will give us the `token' we need, in his own time and way. But -- watch for it!

When the way is dark and I cannot see
Through the mist of his wise design
Through the darkness wide, he is by my side
With a touch of his hand on mine.
There are times when tired of the toilsome round
That for ways of the world I pine,
But he drags me back to the upward track
With a touch of his hand on mine.

Further reading: 1 Pet 1:3-9. Ps 121.

MC