A Sign for You

We spend a surprising amount of our lives looking for signs.

We look for signs that we’re doing okay.
Signs that the people we love really care about us.
Signs that the decisions we’ve made were the right ones.
And often—especially when life feels uncertain—we look for signs from God.

We ask quietly, sometimes desperately: Are you there? Are you listening? Do you see me?

Christmas meets us right there.

When the Signs Don’t Look Like Good News

Joseph never went looking for a sign from God. Instead, a sign found him—and at first, it felt like the worst kind of news.

When Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant, the evidence seemed clear. He knew the child was not his. He knew what the law said. He knew how people would talk. What he saw pointed to betrayal, shame, and loss. Everything he had hoped for suddenly felt fragile and uncertain.

Joseph was a righteous man, but he was also a wounded one. He planned to end the marriage quietly, trying to do what was right while protecting Mary from public disgrace. Fear and compassion wrestled in his heart. And who could blame him? Given the signs he could see, his conclusion made sense.

So often, our lives feel like that.

We read the signs around us—the diagnosis, the broken relationship, the unanswered prayer, the closed door—and we assume we know what they mean. We assume God must be distant. Or disappointed. Or silent. We assume the story is over, or at least headed somewhere painful.

But what if we’re only seeing part of the picture?

God’s Sign in the Middle of Fear

Before Joseph acted on his fear, God stepped in. Through an angel’s voice in a dream, God revealed what Joseph could not see: “Do not be afraid.” What looked like scandal was actually salvation. What felt like loss was the beginning of God’s rescue.

The child Mary carried was from the Holy Spirit. His name would be Jesus—because he would save his people from their sins.

Matthew pauses the story to make sure we don’t miss what’s happening. This was not a coincidence. This was the fulfillment of a promise spoken centuries earlier: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.” God with us.

God was giving Joseph a sign—not just to inform him, but to calm his fear, to anchor his faith, and to invite his trust.

God knows how easily fear takes hold of us. He knows how quickly doubt grows when the signs don’t add up. And so, again and again throughout Scripture, God gives signs—not to satisfy curiosity, but to assure his people of his love and faithfulness.

The Gift That Shows and Supplies

We give gifts at Christmas for a reason. A good gift does more than fill space under a tree. It carries meaning. It says, You matter to me. And often, it meets a real need.

That’s exactly what God does at Christmas.

Jesus is not only a sign of God’s love; he is also the gift that meets our deepest need. The angel told Joseph plainly: “He will save his people from their sins.” This child was not sent merely to inspire or comfort, but to rescue.

In Jesus, God addresses the things we cannot fix on our own—the guilt we carry, the shame we hide, the brokenness we feel but cannot name. Jesus is God’s answer to the ache we feel for forgiveness, peace, and restoration.

At Christmas, God does not send a symbol in the sky. He sends himself. He comes close. He enters the mess. He lies in a manger.

The Sign for Every Question

Maybe this Christmas you find yourself looking for a sign.

A sign that God loves you despite your failures.
A sign that God is working in the middle of your pain.
A sign that your prayers are heard.
A sign that your faith—even if it feels fragile—is not misplaced.

Scripture tells us that Jesus is that sign.

The apostle Paul reminds us that every promise God has made finds its “Yes” in Christ. If God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also graciously give us everything we truly need?

Jesus is God’s “Yes” to your questions.
His “Yes” to forgiveness.
His “Yes” to hope.
His “Yes” to life.

This does not mean every circumstance will suddenly make sense. Joseph still had a difficult road ahead. Mary still faced misunderstanding. The manger was still humble. The world was still broken.

But now they knew this: God was with them.

Look Again at the Manger

If you are weary this season, look again at the manger.
If you are confused, look again at the child lying there.
If you are doubting, look again at the sign God has given.

Jesus is not distant. He is Immanuel—God with us.
Not just in joy, but in sorrow.
Not just in certainty, but in doubt.
Not just in strength, but in weakness.

Whatever questions you carry, whatever fears whisper to you in the quiet moments, God has not left you without a sign.

He has given you Jesus.

And that is enough.