You Are Kept (Genesis 28: 10-19a)
10Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11He came to a certain place and stayed there for the 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. 12And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the LORD stood beside him 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; 14and 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 all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15Know that 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.” 16Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place — and I did not know it!” 17And 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.”
18So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19aHe called that place Bethel;
Protected, tenderly nurtured, provided for, and sustained; God is above all! He searches you and knows your tendencies, strengths and weaknesses, and deep-seated motivations. He knows your thoughts. He knows everything that led to this moment, and he knows how you will respond. He is well acquainted with your perceptions, your presuppositions, and your experiences. All that makes you who you are is in his hands. He has been molding you, fine-tuning you for success. He earnestly cares for you, and is making a way.
You are held by the promise. And the promise will come to fruition; not by you, but by God’s mighty strength. God is true to his word, not for you alone, but for his namesake. He is glorified by his character, something we learn to be familiar with, something that simply is because it is, and we reside in awe and appreciation of his splendor. The great “I Am” stands before us, the faithful one who causes and creates.
Jacob felt his powerful presence in a dream. A ladder was set before him with heavenly hosts, bidders of God’s command, coming and going like messengers. Words that have the power to establish resounded with affirmation: “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go” (Genesis 28: 15a). God’s consuming presence, in this moment, instilled awe and fear, an appropriate response for Jacob. Such an experience impresses upon us the necessity to walk carefully and reason astutely. Such news does not create frivolous, even arrent, responses. Weighty as it is, such an experience rightly instills a sense of obligation.
Still, as the record of the bible indicates, Jacob was far from perfect. But God would bless him anyway. By way of comparison, this is encouraging, for we too have flaws. For sure, we want to be good, we want to succeed, and to be worthy witnesses. But the flesh gets in the way.
Know up front that you are a beloved child of God, and as a child, an equal heir to the promise. It will come about despite you. God hears your groanings and interprets your emotions. And he will make a way. Through your trials, God is forming you. He is tending to the soil at your roots being careful not to disrupt progress. For your sake, he will not pull up pesky weeds that surround you in fear that such a disturbance would undermine your growth.
Faith trusts in God. Understand that there is method to the madness, purpose in living, a plan established before time. The answer is Christ, and him alone! He frees us from bondage, heals our wounds, and ensures progress. The world is blessed through the ancestral line of Abraham which Jacob was a part. Jesus, the fulfillment of the promise, by whom we stand, in whom we believe.
In our flawed finitude we can only get a sense for the miracle. God is good. He is tender, kind, and merciful. He has compassion for our humanity and has made a way. Do not trust in your own abilities. Look to God, who is firmly holding on to you. He is the keeper of your destiny. By his mighty power he cradles you in his arms.
So, walk humbly and appreciate your standing. Do the things that you can do to witness to his splendid benevolence. Be compassionate and respectful and kind without concern for rewards or outcomes. Standing in God’s radiant light, reflect his goodness. Do not be concerned about tomorrow. And regard not the past. Just proceed in good faith, knowing that nothing will separate you from God’s love, strengthened by the assurance that you are kept.