Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: “Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.”
But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.”
Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). Isaiah 7:10-14
i remember reading this passage during one of my quiet times in jerusalem and it completely blew my mind- to the point where i had to read it several times over because i thought i had misinterpreted it. Jesus stepped into this world as one of us, to save us and redeem us and adopt us into His kingdom, in the most fascinating, unprecedented way. He came to us as a baby and was born of a virgin (what in the world...) because of a promise that He made to a king that no one hardly cares to recall. but we are all familiar with the ultimate fulfillment of the promise. i'm enthralled by this God who cares so much about relationship that He's willing to dare a king to ask for an impossible sign, putting His word on the line to prove that He's faithful to what He says. with all the odds stacked up against king ahaz, it seemed imminent that the kings of syria and israel would combine to attack and capture judah. so it's fitting that king ahaz would freak out and be filled with fear and trembling. but in that place of expecting to be defeated and with no hope, the Lord dares him to believe, "Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm." Isaiah 7:9. and although king ahaz lacked boldness in asking for a sign, the Lord went ahead and gave Him the most spectacular, unbelievable promise anyways. this is our God. even when we lack courage and our faith is so small, He goes above and beyond to reveal that He is faithful- that is part of His character and He is unchanging.
i had a dream in september where i came before the Lord and asked, lightheartedly but with hesitation, for a sign that He'll be faithful to fulfill something very specific that's been on my heart. with confidence as a daughter but somewhat reluctant to fully believe, i told God nonchalantly that it'll be cool if He provides this sign but it's not necessary. so in my dream, i chose the most random thing that first popped into my head and said, "ok God. please show this to me as a promise that You'll be faithful to my heart's desires. but even if You don't, i'll still believe." i woke up the next morning thinking how funny it was that i had made this request to God. although i didn't see it the following day like i had secretly hoped for, since the dream back in september, the Lord showed me this sign more than 10 times, just when my faith was running low or exceptionally personal moments when He just wanted to remind me that He hasn't forgotten about me. as silly as this sounds, an all powerful and mighty God making little pinky promises to people like me, i can't help but believe. there's too much evidence in my life to prove that He is forever faithful. He wants to cultivate relationship with us and cares about all the longings in our hearts that we only share with Him in that secret place. yes, there's an uncomfortable risk in faith, especially when circumstances aren't favorable, and i lack confidence if i only see with my eyes. it takes guts and radical faith to entrust my whole heart to a God i can't see. but when i close my eyes, ask for His perspective and confess that i trust Him but need Him to help my unbelief, my vision is crystal clear again. the greatest part of the deal is that the fulfillment of the promise isn't up to us. it wasn't because of what king ahaz did or didn't do that caused the virgin mary to give birth to the savior of the world. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven's Armies will make this happen! Isaiah 9:7
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