Jacob’s Ladder

Whilst Jacob sleeps he dreams of a ladder reaching to the heavens. A sermon reflecting on Jacobs experience can be found here.

One of the phrases from the story that resonates with myself is Genesis 28: 16 when Jacob ponders “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it”

Finding God in the midst of our everyday lives can take us by surprise. I know that as Christians we give lip service to grand theological phrases like ‘omnipresence’ (meaning ‘always there’) but it still throws us a curve ball when that presence is discovered in tangible ways.

As summer congregations dwindle and folks have more significant things to do with their time than attend church services, it can raise all sorts of questions in a pastor’s mind.

But then I remember, thank God, that it’s not about me. It’s about that presence of God that often we don’t recognize. Jacob had a deep sense of awe when he awoke from his dream. God was going to bless others through his compromised life.

Remembering that ‘The Lord is in this place’ can save us from feeling our efforts are futile or insignificant. We love because Christ first loved us. We serve because Christ came to serve. We believe because God believes in us.

And though attendance may well be down during the summer months the most important focus of any worship service remains our Lord Jesus Christ, who promises that wherever even two or three gather in His name, He is going to be in the midst of it all.

Prayer: ”Lord remind us that it is never about the numbers, but all about the grace You have revealed to us in and through Jesus Christ. As Jacob dreamt of a ladder teeming with angels, help us to be aware of the unseen cloud of witnesses always surrounding our lives. May we know like Jacob that ‘Surely the Lord is in this place’. Amen.”