January 13

January 13, 2013  

 

Genesis 28:16-17  When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it."  He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."

 

Jacob was in trouble. He was running for his life. He was ALONE in the wilderness. Panic!!  Fear!!  Problems!!!   Adversity!!!  What was his salvation? He discovered he was never alone.  We are never alone. Never!!!   But often in adversity our fallen minds lose perspective. We forget that the Lord is in all places. He is even in adversity. When we are aware of his divine presence it produces a Godly fear in us. It creates awe. We need the presence of God much more than the gifts of God. His presence is the greatest gift we can ever possess.

 

In his book, The Pressure's Off, psychologist Larry Crabb uses a story from his childhood to illustrate our need to delight in God through adversity:  "One Saturday afternoon, I decided I was a big boy and could use the bathroom without anyone's help. So I climbed the stairs, closed and locked the door behind me, and for the next few minutes felt very self-sufficient.  Then it was time to leave. I couldn't unlock the door. I tried with every ounce of my three-year-old strength, but I couldn't do it. I panicked. I felt again like a very little boy as the thought went through my head, 'I might spend the rest of my life in this bathroom.'  My parents—and likely the neighbors—heard my desperate scream. 'Are you okay?' Mother shouted through the door she couldn't open from the outside. 'Did you fall? Have you hit your head?'  'I can't unlock the door!' I yelled. 'Get me out of here!' I wasn't aware of it right then, but Dad raced down the stairs, ran to the garage to find the ladder, hauled it off the hooks, and leaned it against the side of the house just beneath the bathroom window. With adult strength, he pried it open, then climbed into my prison, walked past me, and with that same strength, turned the lock and opened the door. 'Thanks, Dad,' I said—and ran out to play.  That's how I "thought" the Christian life was supposed to work. When I get stuck in a tight place, I should do all I can to free myself. When I can't, I should pray. Then God shows up. He hears my cry—'Get me out of here! I want to play!'—and unlocks the door to the blessings I desire."

 

Jacob had the experience of God opening the door for him in his crisis. He chose to run out and play for several more years. He missed his opportunity to enjoy the awesome presence of God.

 

Many people turn their backs on God when he doesn't open the door exactly like they want him to. We blame God when our marriage doesn't heal, when rebellious kids continue to rebel, when friends betray, when financial reversals threaten our comfortable way of life, when despite much prayer, loneliness and depression intensify. God has climbed through the small window into our dark room. But he doesn't walk by us to turn the lock that we couldn't budge. Instead, he sits down on the bathroom floor and says, "Come sit with me!" He seems to think that climbing into the room to be with us matters more than letting us out to play.

 

Most of the time we just want to play and we scream, "If you love me, unlock the door!"   The choice is ours. Either we can keep asking him to give us what we think will make us happy—to escape our dark room and run to the playground of blessings—or we can accept his invitation to sit with him, for now, perhaps, in darkness, and to seize the opportunity to know him better.

 

Don't repeat the error of Jacob. Enjoy the presence of your God today. You are never alone.