"Surely the LORD is in this place-- and I did not know it!" Genesis 28:16b
Dear Friends in Christ,
Jacob had a dream of a ladder to heaven, with angels ascending and descending on it. The Lord made a promise to Jacob—renewing the promise he made to Abraham and Isaac. Jacob was fleeing from his homeland and from his brother he had cheated. God promised he would bring Jacob back, and that he would be with Jacob. “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.” Jacob woke and said “Surely the Lord is in this place-- and I did not know it!... How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Jacob marked the place with a stone so that he would remember this experience of God, and honor God when these promises were fulfilled.
How often we miss the presence of God where we are! God is often mysteriously at work behind the scenes, hidden, perhaps, but present and active. God is preparing others to receive his grace, and preparing us to participate in sharing God’s grace. God is preparing someone else to hear your story of how you discovered God’s presence in your life.
Are you looking for God’s presence? Have you marked those moments where God was close, present, and active? Are you looking for the opportunity to bless someone else by sharing that experience? Pray that God might show you those opportunities that he has prepared for you to share those authentic personal experiences that demonstrate the reality and blessing of God in your life.
Surely the Lord is with us whether we know it or not. But how wonderful when we know it! How wonderful when we can share that experience so that others might know it too!
Yours in Christ,
-Tom