If you were able to walk back through your personal history, where would you marvel like Jacob, " Surely the Lord is in this place - and I did not know it?"
Genesis 28:10-22
Jacob's Dream at Bethel
10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway [a] resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it [b] stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."
So many times I look around my life without recognizing God's presence in the place, moment and circumstances. I had the opportunity to revisit (via my journal) moments in my life that I'd grazed over instead of absorbing to the full. In this section of scripture, Jacob is sleeping in the great outdoors as God comes to him in a dream to help open his spiritual eyes. Upon waking, Jacob has an overwhelming awareness of God's care, interest and involvement in his life. Promises of God's comfort, care and provision are made for Jacob and he absorbs it fully and without strain or doubt.
Jacob is bold in his confidence and faith in God's promises. He wasn't frantic or anxious about all the what ifs of these promises - he accepted them as he was resting, dreaming and sleeping.
God's promises are simply that - God's! The promises that God gives to Jacob can become the dream that God gives to each one of his children. Dreams give us hope when circumstances tell us the desires of our heart are impossible! Dreams inspire artists to paint beautiful masterpieces like the painting "Jacobs Ladder" posted above. (Copyright©2003ChristinaSaj./
www.christinasaj.com/catalog/viewImage.php?painting=JacobsLadder)
If I open my heart, mind and spirit to the dream God has for my life - what would his masterpiece look like? May I have the boldness to hold onto the dreams God has birthed in my own heart and help them to come to pass in His way and in His time.
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