Archive for January 30th, 2012

“We are bruised and broken masterpieces,
but we did not paint ourselves.
And where will I find you?”
(Jon Foreman, “The Economy of Mercy”)

On Genesis 28:10-22

Can you imagine being stripped of everything that you own that all you have is a rock for a pillow? At one point in his life, Abraham’s grandson Jacob found himself without everything that he had except for the clothes on his back, running for his life (because his brother wanted to take that too.).  Admittedly, it was his fault (with the encouragement of his mom) that he had to run. Suddenly, this momma’s boy is without a mom, running in the wilderness (without survival skills), and running out of hope.

Tired and alone, Jacob took a rock and used it for a pillow to sleep. It was dark and he was probably thinking of all the predators that could kill him as he slept, but he was just too tired to care. I have no idea what was going through his head when he did that (the passage didn’t say), was he crying? Was he beating himself up for pulling that stupid trick on his dad (what could he do the first-born blessing if he was already dead, anyway?)? Did he miss his mom? Was he practicing what he would say to his brother if ever Esau catches up to him?

Whatever they were, Jacob fell asleep and he had one of the most famous dreams in the Bible: Angels going up and down a ladder from heaven reaching earth. “And the Lord stood above it and said: I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac… 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 spoken to you.” (Gen. 28:13-15)

And Jacob woke up from his sleep and said, “The Lord is in this place and I did not know it!” (Gen. 28:16)

And if you read through Genesis, you can see that God did pull through for Jacob–even as Jacob wasn’t perfect in his righteousness and faithfulness at all throughout everything, God still remained faithful and true to His word.

It’s funny (well, not really) how I’ve been talking to a lot of people and I’m noticing a trend– not all of us are having an easy time these days. Some of us are discouraged, uncertain, lonely and verging on depression. The future looks uncertain from where we stand. And while we are far from having a stone for a pillow, we feel like that we’re in a dark place right now and wolves are lurking about waiting to tear us apart.

But let’s take our cue from Jacob who still found it in him to sleep, to rest even when nothing is comfortable. Sleeping left him vulnerable to all the dangers out there, but for a man at the end of his rope, he still got to sleep. I’m not saying you should sleep when you have to be at work, but REST. Be at peace. And there, like in Jacob’s dream, God reveals Himself to be with you still, will keep you wherever you may go and will not leave you until His work is finished with you.

Happy Monday guys. The Lord is with you.