David Yarbrough
Genesis 28:16 (CSB)
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”
Has God ever turned your awful place into an awesome place? That’s His specialty—taking what looks hopeless and impossible and making it a point of transformation. Maybe you're in a hard spot today. Take hope; as Jacob said, “the LORD is in this place”.
We resume our story of Jacob running from his brother Esau, who wants to kill him because he has stolen his birthright. Up until this point, Jacob lived a life of comfort and ease under the watchful care of his overbearing mother. But now he has traded his comfy bed and pillow for the cold sand of the desert and has an unforgiving rock for a pillow. Jacob has hit hard times. We, as humans, are a sad lot. For most of us, we don't ever seek God until after we bottom out. Rock bottom can be an awful place, but for many of us, in retrospect, it is an awesome place. Because it's the place where, for the first time in our lives, we encountered God and began to seek His Kingdom. And now there is a sweetness in life we never would have known if it had not been for rock bottom.
The last thing Jacob was expecting to see in this awful place was God. But now that all of his worldly comforts are stripped away, Jacob’s spiritual eyes are finally opened. God was always there for Jacob as he was living a life of luxury with his parents, but now, for the first time in his life, he became aware of it.
Genesis 28:17 (CSB) He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”
Now that Jacob sees God, what was an awful place becomes an awesome place. Have you ever hit rock bottom? Maybe you're there now. When we feel like life is getting the upper hand and we are bouncing across rock bottom, we want nothing more than for God to do a removing job when it is His intention to do an improving job. We want God to rescue us, and God wants to bring spiritual revitalization. Did God make Jacob's circumstances better before he realized God was with him? No! If anything, Jacob's circumstances got worse. God is much more concerned with changing our hearts rather than changing our circumstances. Jacob underwent a major transformation; he went from encountering affliction to encountering God.
Genesis 28:18–19 (CSB) Early in the morning Jacob took the stone that was near his head and set it up as a marker. He poured oil on top of it and named the place Bethel.
The rock that Jacob had used for a pillow goes from a rock of pain to a rock of praise. And Jacob’s eyes, which were once blinded by blessings, are now opened by suffering. Throughout the rest of Jacob’s life, he will face many more struggles, and God will use them all to strengthen his faith. And we see that change in the next few verses.
Genesis 28:20–21 (CSB) Then Jacob made a vow: "If God will be with me and watch over me during this journey I’m making, if he provides me with food to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return safely to my father’s family, then the LORD will be my God."
Jacob's trickery and conniving had made him a fugitive, but now the runaway who was trying to escape his problems has run head-first into the king of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is not about a physical location but a spiritual reality. As Jacob journeys with God, he will experience God's guidance, provision, and protection. These are all things a king provides for those living in his kingdom.
The same is true for us spiritually; we are either fugitives on the run from the deception of this world, the consequences of our sins, or the bondage of the evil one. Or we are journeying with God, with His Kingdom ever expanding within our hearts. The great thing about journeying with God is that it doesn't matter how rough the terrain is. The closer we are to Him, the smoother the ride and the better the view. And when we look back, what we thought was an awful place was really an awesome place because it was there that we encountered God.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we acknowledge Your omnipresence even in the places that seem desolate and hopeless. Help us to recognize Your hand in our trials, transforming our struggles into sanctuaries of grace and growth. As we journey through life, may we always find comfort in Your promise, just as Jacob did, that You are in every place we find ourselves, especially when we hit rock bottom. Amen.
Life Application Points:
1. **God in the Midst of Struggles**: Regardless of how difficult our circumstances might appear, we should always remember that God is present with us, even when we don't realize it. Just as Jacob discovered God's presence in a moment of despair, we can also encounter Him in our struggles.
2. **Transformation in Trials**: Difficult times often serve as catalysts for our spiritual growth. Instead of asking God to remove our trials, we should seek His guidance and grace to grow through them. These challenges can lead to a deepening of our faith and character, much like Jacob's transformation.
3. **God's Priorities**: It's crucial to understand that God's priorities often differ from ours. While we might wish for a change in our circumstances, God might be more interested in changing our hearts and drawing us closer to Him. The story of Jacob reminds us of this profound truth.
4. **The Power of Perspective**: Jacob's story teaches us the power of perspective. What initially seems like an awful situation can become an awesome experience when we perceive God's presence and purpose in it. Instead of viewing our "rock bottom" moments as entirely negative, we can see them as opportunities to encounter God in a new and profound way.
5. **Journeying with God**: Our spiritual journey is not about escaping the world's troubles but about walking through them with God's guidance, provision, and protection. This journey may not always be easy, but it is rewarding and transformative. It's through this journey that God's Kingdom expands within our hearts, bringing us closer to Him and aligning our will with His.