Genesis 28:10-15 "And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of."
In obedience to the charge that Isaac gave him (Genesis 28:1), Jacob left Beersheba and started on his journey to the land of his mother’s relatives. He knew that it was here that he was expected to find a wife. He did not travel with a great retinue or carry a lot of provisions. When he had gone as far as he could go on that day, he simply laid down where he was and used a stone for a pillow.
Have you ever felt like you have gone as far as you can go? Darkness caught up with Jacob, and he could go no farther. There are times with us that the darkness catches up with us and we cannot go on. We try to find rest where we are, and our pillow is a stone. We know the journey is still before us, and we are not certain of the outcome.
Jacob dreamed that there was a ladder with the bottom set on the earth and the top anchored in heaven. In his dream, he saw the angels (messengers) of God ascending up to heaven and descending down to earth on this ladder. Jesus would declare many years later that his children would “ see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (John 1:58).” Jacob was given in that night a vision of the sufficiency of God in Jesus Christ.
It is in Jesus that we have a direct connection to the paradise of God and His holy presence. By the power of the Holy Spirit, our prayers and praises ascend into heaven. By that same Holy Spirit, the very Word of God speaks in our hearts. We see the LORD standing above and declaring His purpose for us.
The LORD declared that we should look and see that He is with us. Even if our bed is hard and our pillow a stone, the LORD is with us. His promise is that He will continue with us wherever our journey takes us, and that He will bring us back to the land that He has promised. He will never abandon us but will do everything that He has promised. Journey today in the power of His love!