When God Meets Us Where We Are

Have you ever been uncertain about what lies ahead? Maybe it’s uncertainty about your job, your children/grandchildren, your health, or your finances?  A Christian author and pastor once wrote in My Utmost for His Highest, “We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God!”

Jacob has the blessing of his father, but he is leaving behind the security of his home. Everything in front of him is unknown. He has no idea what to expect! Jacob planned taking the blessing from Esau, but he did not plan what followed. This uncertainty is all of his own making, but the Lord doubles down and meets him right where he is!

God still accomplishes His purposes and draws us to Himself…even when our wrong choices surround our life with uncertain times.  Jacob still has to face the consequences of his choices, but he moves forward with the promises of God!  Believer, it is crucial we learn to trust God and respond to HIS faithfulness with OUR obedience.

JACOB IS SENT AWAY

  • Genesis 27:41. Esau’s grief turns to hatred, bitterness, and malice.  He openly declares he will murder his brother (Jacob) after their father (Isaac) dies.

  • Genesis 27:42. Rebekah is told about Esau’s murderous plans and convinces her husband (Isaac) to send Jacob to Haran to find a wife, so he does not marry one of the daughters of Heth.

  • Genesis 28:1-5. Isaac sends Jacob to Rebekah’s brother, Laban, with the hope of God’s promises, the Abrahamic Covenant, passing on to Jacob.

ESAU IS BITTER AND DISGUSTED

  • Genesis 28:6-9- Esau on the other hand, sees Jacob (a thief) obey his parents and hears how they don’t like the Canaanite women.  So, he turns around a marries a daughter of Ishmael.

JACOB’S DREAM

  • Genesis 28:10-15. Jacob stops for the night on his trip to Haran. He uses stones for his pillows and went to sleep (v. 10-11). He dreams of a ladder on earth reaching heaven with angels going up and down the ladder (v. 12).

The LORD God then appears above the ladder (v. 13), identifies Himself as the God of his grandfather and father, and promises the land to Jacob and his descendants.  God promises that Jacob’s descendants will be so great in number that they will be as the dust of the earth and will spread out in every direction across the earth. God also promises all families will be blessed through Jacob and his descendants (v. 14).  The dream concludes with God promising His presence, His protection, and His provision to be with Jacob where he goes (v. 15).

JACOB RESPONDS TO HIS DREAM

Genesis 28:16-22.  Jacob wakes up declaring that God is in this place. Then he takes his pillow (a stone) and sets it up as a memorial pillar, pours oil over it, and calls the place “Bethel” (which means house of God) (v. 16-19).  After these things, Jacob makes a vow before God. Jacob promises that if God does what He promised…

  • God will be with him

  • God will protect him

  • God will provide food and clothing for him

  • God will bring him safely back to his father’s home

then…

  • Jacob will choose LORD as his God

  • The memorial pillar will become a place to worship the God

  • Jacob will practice tithing and give a 10th of all God gives him.

We may not know what lies ahead for us this week, or even later today!  However, we can trust the one true God who goes with us into such uncertainty. 

At the end of 1999, the world had become concerned that computers would fail when the calendars changed to January 1, 2000.  People stock piled food in their basements, some moved to the country and built self-staining homes to function without city utilities.  Meanwhile, my wife and I downsized our means, moved in with her parents, and started traveling on deputation. 

Think about the uncertainties in your life right now. 

  • The Uncertainty of a Damaged Relationship. Are you wondering if your spouse, child, or friend will ever trust you again after what you have done?

  • The Uncertainty of a Financial Mess. Are you wondering how you are going to get out of the hole you dug for yourself?

  • The Uncertainty of a Damaged Reputation. Are you wondering if people will ever look at you the same way again?

  • The Uncertainty of a Spiritual Failure. Are you wondering if God can still use you after choices you have made?

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?! 

1.    Trust God’s Promises

God’s purposes are greater than our current circumstances.  Look at Genesis 28.  God continued His plan despite Jacob’s troubled past and gave him His promises. We still need to take responsibility for our wrong choices.  We need to confess and repent, and then we can still move forward in obedience to God!  Rehearse these promises of God that we have for us today:

  • God’s Presence,Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

  • God’s Provision, Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want!”  Psalm 34:10, “…those who seek the LORD will NOT lack any good thing.”  Rom. 8:32, “He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all. How will He not also with Him grant us everything?”

  • God’s Guidance, Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Psalm 37:23-24, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholds him with His hand.” James 1:5

  • God’s Protection, II Thess. 3:3, “But the LORD is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” Psalm 121:7-8, “…The LORD will protect your coming and your going both now and forever.”

2.    Recognize God’s Presence

God is at work even when we are unaware of Him. Look at Genesis 28:16.  God was present before Jacob recognized it and this realization stirred reverence in him. Uncertain or difficult times can sometimes move us to think God is absent because we cannot see what He is doing!

Think about it this way: the boss managed a remote worker. Although the boss saw all the employee’s completed work, he became convinced the employee wasn’t working enough and he started second guessing everything. This impacted the trust of the relationship and removed needed motivation for the employee. You see, the boss was used to “seeing is believing” kind of management. So, if he couldn’t see the work getting done, then he couldn’t believe it was done properly.

With God, we are called to a more “believing is seeing” kind of relationship!  God is at work even when you can’t see what He is doing! In uncertain times, God is working, and we need to:

…recognize God’s presence in ordinary places outside of church services.

…respond to God’s holiness, not casually, but with reverence.

…remember your feelings do not determine God’s faithfulness or God’s presence.

3.    Respond to God’s Faithfulness

An encounter with God should change how we live! In Genesis 28:18-22, Jacob responded to God’s revelation by marking the place with a pillar and also responded with a promise.

  • Do you remember God’s faithfulness, or do you take it for granted and move on rather quickly?

  • Do you respond to God’s word with obedience or is it more of a “let me think about it…I will deal with it later.”

  • Do you interact with God as a kind of give and take transactional relationship? For example, “I’ll obey God if He gives me what I want?”  Do you respond to God’s faithfulness with trust and obedience?

Picture this. A child walks through a dark parking lot holding his daddy’s hand.  He can’t see where they are going or what ahead is waiting for them…but he knows who is holding his hand!

God is holding you with His right hand of righteousness!  The all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever present one true God is with you, protecting you, and providing for you!  Have you wondered from God’s way? Have you schemed, lied, manipulated, and deceived like Jacob? Do you think yourself not worthy? His promises are still for you! Confess, repent, and claim God’s grace. Trust God’s promises and respond to His faithfulness with your obedience.