Dreams of Assurance

Genesis 28: 12-16 - And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!  behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants;  and your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and by you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth bless themselves.  Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that of which I have spoken to you."  Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place; and I did not know it." 

I fell asleep last night …thinking how cool it would be to have a dream that told your sure future.  We know that it scared Jacob a bit….but it also helped him see the great majesty of God…and caused him to erect the stone he was sleeping on into a place of memorial…so he could remember to worship there. Jacob is shown that the blessing of his father Isaac..who was passed this blessing from his grandfather Abraham…was a binding blessing…God himself reassuring Jacob that he would someday own the land he slept on…and that he would someday be the father of so many children they would need to be divided into tribes.

Jacob is so moved by this dream that he makes a vow back to God at the end of this chapter. It was a vow that came straight from his thankfulness….from a heart that realized that he did not have to help God to get the blessing he thought he had to trick and deceive for. It was a vow of deep conviction and commitment….that would give him the strength to endure the lessons God would teach him over the next 30 years. I believe a bit of remorse was mixed into this promise to God…Jacob realized in this moment his actions were wrong….and he would need to rely on and  trust in God from now on to manifest this promise in God’s time.

As I read…it dawned on me that he was the third generation to receive the promise….God never told Abraham when. This timing of God…it makes all of us wait …until we show him we are ready to do what he needs us to do. Abraham had a problem with lying that he never really got rid of. Isaac and Rebekah never really learned not to lie and deceive.  Rebekah sure did not trust God to bless the right son. Maybe all the human faults that I possess…the ones that keep allowing Satan to trick me into using to get what I think I need…keep me from moving forward in God’s plan for my life too.

Father..I sit here wishing you would come to me in a dream too….and tell me what to look forward to. Maybe…someday I will be ready.  Wash me Lord of every fault…of every habit I have …that I allow Satan to trick me with…because I don’t trust you…or I don’t ask you what to do. Give me a vision of your promise to prosper me and give me hope…make it a moment of deep conviction and realization that you need to teach me how to rely on only you…so I can finish the work you brought me to earth to do. Allow your great strength to give me courage that day to see who you are…and accept in that very moment the task you have given me to do. Amen