Casandra Martin

There is a story in Genesis 28 that just catches me every time I read it. Jacob is running for his life from Esau after stealing his brother’s blessing. Everything he thought he was going to gain by deception, he lost. He has no home, no family, no position, no power, no wealth, and no control. He now faces the encroaching darkness as night falls across the desert. Pulling up a rock for a pillow, Jacob lies down to go to sleep.

Resting his head on a stone, Jacob is wretched, alone, and vulnerable. Then something wonderful happens. God chooses this moment to tap Jacob on the shoulder and introduce Himself. At the moment when Jacob must feel most alone. At the time when Jacob has nothing to bring to the table but guilt and shame. In the circumstance when he is most exposed as a fraud and a liar, God decides to open Jacob’s eyes. The Lord gives Jacob a dream of a stairway resting on the earth and extending up into heaven. Angels ascend and descend the stairway; while above it the Lord stands and makes Jacob a series of jaw-dropping, life-altering, heart-changing promises. He promises Jacob lands, descendants, and protection. He promises that Jacob and his family will be a source of great blessing for all the peoples of the earth. He commits Himself to being with Jacob and fulfilling by His own power all that He has in mind for Jacob.

It is Jacob’s reaction to this moment that touches my heart. In Genesis 28:16, Jacob awakes from this amazing dream and says, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” How many times have I stood in Jacob’s place? How many days have gone by in which I was so focused on myself, my to-do list, and fulfilling my own desires that I missed Him? How many holy moments have found me with my eyes closed, have caught me unaware? Too many.

The Jesus Resolution calls me to live with open eyes. Eyes that are focused on the presence and movement of God. Eyes that help me see that He is very near – loving, forgiving, providing, protecting, and claiming me as His own. I resolve today to keep my eyes open and my heart aware. Surely the Lord is in this place. I don’t want to miss Him.