I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
Genesis 28:15, NIV
Read: Genesis 28: 10-17
I grew up in a tiny village in the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago. I often tell people that even though we did not have the best of everything, it was a rich life. We had food, shelter and clothing and the support of a close knit community.
And yet my life was far from perfect. Whose life is, right? As a child growing up in a proverbial broken home, I was what they would call an at-risk child. Without the loving support of a mother’s love, I made some wrong moves in life–moves that threatened to put me on the very pathway to failure that the statistics predicted. But God had other plans for me.
When we pick up the story of Jacob in Genesis 28: 10-17, we see that even though he is already favored by God as the grandson of Abraham, Jacob has made some wrong choices in his life. He cheated his twin brother, Esau, out of his rightful blessing, deceived his father, Isaac, and now he is on the run. I can imagine that Jacob feels discouraged. He is disappointed in himself. But as he lies down to sleep one night, the God of all comfort visits him with a reassuring dream. Jacob sees a ladder with angels ascending and descending from heaven, and God speaks comforting words to him.
Can you see yourself in Jacob’s position?
One night, made years ago, I found myself in a very discouraging spot. Disappointed in myself, I walked alone with my head bent. It was then that a kind friend pulled me over and under the glow of a street lamp, she read this passage to me:
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8: 38-39, NIV
I was encouraged.
That same God who visited Jacob, still visits us in our moments of self-doubt and discouragement saying: “Don’t worry my child. I am not abandoning you! In fact, I have big dreams for you. Stick with me. I am going to take you places.”
REFLECT: In what ways has God shown himself to you as a God who is willing to forgive ALL? Take a moment today to thank Him for his unending grace?
Live deep; laugh much.
I help individuals create space and develop habits and strategies to live a flourishing life — one goal at a time.