I had a great time last week with the Lay Leadership team from around the territory. Your prayers were felt, known and appreciated.
For part of our devotions, we spent time with Jacob in the wilderness, in the middle of the night. In Genesis 28, Jacob stops at a certain place and finds a stone to use as a pillow.
I’ve been there, I think maybe you have, too. Not in Haran, but in your own desolation… in your own wilderness with so very little in your pockets.
Jacob works with what he has in that moment. He takes what he finds and uses it as a tool for rest. Even in desperate times, he knows the value of a night’s sleep. For those of you in that desolate place… find a rock to sleep on. Comfortable? Certainly not, but still useful and still helpful. And far better than an all-nighter…
After the dream, Jacob utters one of the more profound statements to be found in Scripture, and a sentiment that we’ve all uttered at some point or another in our own walk, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
He takes that same stone pillow, anoints it with oil and it becomes an altar. A memorial for this moment in life when he had nothing and found everything, when he was in the middle of nowhere and it was the only place that mattered, perhaps at his most lost he discovers that he has been found.
Sleep on that rock. Know that God is in that place and that you are not alone. And when you meet Him there, remember it. Make it an altar.