Surely The Lord Is In This Place

-July 10, 2023-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord 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 28:16-17).

There are many times in Scripture that the Lord appeared to men and women. Today’s text is the marvelous story of how Jacob had a dream and in it the Lord showed him two wonderful truths: his present blessings and those of the future of his descendants. This revelation is found in Genesis 28:1-17 and is called “Jacob’s Ladder.” God gives him His unconditional promises.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are the three patriarchs in the Bible. From these three God brought forth and nation of Israel, and eventually the Messiah, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The devil has fought against God’s plan ever since, but to no avail.

Jacob left home and set off for his mother’s family to marry. His mother had concocted a scheme to get him the blessing after he had already gotten his brother Esau’s birthright. Esau sought to kill him and so off he went. The Lord caused him to have a dream. He made the statement to himself, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” At this time the Lord gave him tremendous assurances. Jacob saw a ladder from heaven to earth with angels ascending and descending on it. What a sight! Jacob came to realize the Lord was in that place.

God is everywhere, for He is omnipresent. He is with us as He was with Jacob to encourage us and strengthen us. This divine encounter changed his life completely. God promised to make his descendants like the dust of the earth and to possess the land to the west, east, north, and south; and through his seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. He also promised that He would be with him, never leave him, and bring him back to this land.

No wonder Jacob would say that the Lord was in that place. Wherever the Lord is, it is holy. Moses found this out and so did Joshua after him. When God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush, He told him, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). The Lord also appeared to Joshua as the Commander of the Lord’s army and told him in Joshua 5:15, “…Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

How does this apply to us? We live in the presence of the Lord daily. He is present in a special way when we gather collectively as saints at church to worship Him and hear messages from the Word of God. There are other times He shows Himself to us in a special way, answering our prayers, working miracles in our lives. But He is also present with us in the small, ordinary, and mundane things in our homes, our schools, our jobs, our neighborhoods, our communities, and wherever we go. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.

Let us say with Jacob, “Surely the Lord is in this place.” I love the song “Surely the Presence of the Lord Is In This Place,” written by Lanny Wolf, “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place; I can feel His mighty power and His grace. I can hear the brush of angels’ wings, I can see the glory in each face; Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.”

Have a blessed day with the Lord, in His presence in holiness and reverence. Stay safe and healthy.

Knowing the nearness of His presence in every situation,

Dean