Remember the Signs

I love The Silver Chair. The characters are most relatable and the journey fascinating, though there's not as much action as in others. (Whatever would the movie-makers do with this one?) I've already written another SC post about Puddleglum.
Here's what you need to know: Protagonists Jill Pole and Eustace Scrubb are sent to Narnia on a quest to save the lost Prince Rilian, King Caspian's son, from his enchanted imprisonment. Because of a blunder of Jill's, the two are split up when they first arrive and so Jill is alone given by Aslan the Four Signs that will lead them on their journey.

"These are the signs by which I will guide you in your quest. First; as soon as the Boy Eustace sets foot in Narnia, he will meet an old and dear friend. He must greet that friend at once; if he does, you will both have good help. Second; you must journey out of Narnia to the north till you come to the ruined city of the ancient giants. Third; you shall find a writing on a stone in that ruined city, and you must do what the writing tells you. Fourth; you will know the lost prince (if you find him) by this, that he will be the first person you have met in your travels who will ask you to do something in my name, in the name of Aslan."
As the Lion seemed to have finished, Jill thought she should say something. So she said, "Thank you very much. I see."
"Child," said Aslan, in a gentler voice than he had yet used, "perhaps you do not see quite as well as you think. But the first step is to remember. Repeat to me, in order, the four signs."
Jill tried, and didn't get them quite right. So the Lion corrected her, and made her repeat them again and again till she could say them perfectly.
...
"But, first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters."

And, indeed, the signs do not end up looking at all as one would expect, and the travelers manage to "muff" almost all of them before setting their course right again. During a particularly hard leg of the journey, Jill even gives up repeating the signs and has to be reminded by Aslan in a dream. 

The idea for this post came in church (all the best ones do!) when, though I don't remember the train of thought that lead me there, I thought of how often my most frequent prayer is Lord, tell me what to do. Wouldn't life be so much easier that way? If He just gave us the signs and all we had to do was follow them and everything would be all right.
Then I thought, if I had all the signs would I follow them? And then I remembered that I sort of do.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9 ESV)

Sound familiar? Aslan's advice to Jill is basically a paraphrase!
Now, when I pray for God's direction I often really mean a step-by-step How To. While Aslan's four signs seem very straight forward, they don't turn out so in the story. For example the first sign seems very simple. Wouldn't Eustace greet a good friend, without anyone telling him to? But, as Aslan warned, the signs don't look as they're expected to look. Though Eustace does see an old friend upon arriving, he doesn't recognize him because it's been 50 Narnian years since Eustace last saw him.
My point is that the signs in our world, the Bible, really are very straight forward. The problem is not in the signs, it's in our minds. The air is thicker here. They do not look as we expect them to look. We become distracted or confused. That's why Faith is so important. If we really want to obey and follow Jesus, we have to decide, before our minds have the chance to become foggy, that we're going to trust and believe in his Word no matter what happens. Otherwise, we are too easily swayed by appearances and expectations. In other words, you've got to know which side you're on before you go to battle.