Peace in the In-Between - Devotion 3
Mental Peace
“Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, ‘I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely theLORD is in this place, and I did not know it.’ And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’” Genesis 28:10-17
You may have just read that passage and thought, “Wait, this is not part of the Christmas account!” You are right. This does not mention Jesus specifically, but it does speak to how God works in our lives.
I need to give you a little backstory here. Jacob had stolen Esau’s birthright (which Esau did not value much anyway since he sold it for a bowl of stew), and Esau was not happy. Jacob had to get out of Beersheba and flee Esau as he was coming after Jacob and his family. Can you imagine the stress in this situation? Jacob knew what he would have done and knew his big brother (granted, he was only older by seconds) was coming for him. Jacob’s state of mind was one of a person fleeing immediate danger and potential death. This is a high-stress and extremely anxious situation.
God reminds Jacob of the promise He made to Isaac and the promise that was passed down to him. When Jacob woke up, he was amazed. He realizes that God was in that place, and he did not know it. It is an “awesome” place as it is the house of God. The name of the town where Jacob first arrived was Luz, or basically an almond tree. I mean, almonds are great, but Jacob met God in this place. He was focused on fleeing danger, but he did not realize that God was still with him. So, Jacob changes the name of this town to Beth-el or Bethel, the House of God.
It is interesting that all it takes is one encounter with God to change how you see the circumstances in your life. Maybe you are looking around, and you do not know what to do; you do not know what is around the corner. Maybe you are wandering like Jacob was. Maybe you are anxious, worried, concerned, and wondering when it is going to be your turn for a promotion, marriage, or children. Are things going to work out (finances, struggle, marriage)? Will God really forgive me? Can I really overcome this addiction? Will I ever get past my depression and anxiety?
God enters into your wondering and presents His wonder in the midst of your wandering.
The peace of God comes into our lives when we bring Him glory, listen to Him, and we wake up. Jacob was awakened by God in this vision when he had no peace and realized that God was with him. When you wake up, you realize that God was with you in your waiting and wandering. He was with you when you were not sure when (or if) it would work out. He was with you when you needed forgiveness. He was with you when you were (or still are) addicted. When you realize this, you can look back to your Beth-el (House of God), where God changed you.
You may not be aware of the fact that God is with you now. Maybe you need to be awakened from your sleep to realize that God is with you right where you are. Then you can look around and exclaim like Jacob, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” He continues, “How awesome is this place!” This is an awesome place, and I can find peace in God’s presence!
However, it did not stop there for Jacob. Twenty-one years later, Jacob has now lived some life; he had kids, dwelt with God, struggled, and experienced blessings from God. In Genesis 35:3, God was calling Jacob back to Bethel to go and worship Him. So, Jacob goes to his family and says in Genesis 35:3, “Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”
Jacob wants to go build an altar to the God who answers him in the day of his distress and has been with him wherever he has gone! He realized that God’s presence was not just in the place of Bethel. He was with him everywhere he went. God’s presence is not just in the church building, or only when you pray, or only when you are reading your Bible, or when you are worshiping Him. It is not just where you have seen him work. He is with you always.
Wake up to God’s presence! For where He is there is freedom, there is grace, and there is peace.