DAY FOURTEEN | DISCOVER YOUR DESTINY...LIKE JACOB - PART 1
“When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it...and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.’”
Genesis 28:16,22
Today’s passage finds Jacob running from the consequences of his actions and falling asleep at a place called Bethel. While he was asleep, God revealed Himself in a very personal way. It was then that the God of his fathers became Jacob’s personal God, too.
Jacob was at the end of his rope! His scheming and trickery had brought him nothing but failure and rejection. When he stopped running and fell asleep at Bethel, he had nothing. It is when you are at the end of your rope that God reveals Himself to you in a personal way.
Jacob was alone. Throughout Scripture, God has used a person’s solitude as an opportunity to reveal Himself. God came to Moses when he was alone with his flocks in Midian. God came to Isaiah while he was alone in the temple praying. When we provide God with the chance, giving ourselves time alone, God can have our undivided attention and can reveal Himself to us, as well.
Personal encounters with God result in changed lives, and Jacob was transformed at Bethel. When God became personal to him, he was moved to promise God a tenth of everything, and Jacob was changed from a taker in life to a giver.
Prayer Focus:
Pray that everyone touched by DBC will experience a personal relationship with God, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Ask the Father to meet you at your ‘Bethel’ and reveal Himself; then consider how the giving of your time, talent, and treasures can reveal your personal faith in Him.
A Prayer from Allen Taliaferro:
Loving God, thank you for hearts that are not trodden, but strengthened by You and unafraid to journey on when falseness and betrayal are laid bare. In these times, may we know the assurance that He who is within us is stronger than he who is within the world. Through You, may we seek to live Your commandment to forgive others, as You have forgiven us. Empower us by Your Spirit to allow love for those who have hurt us to be the mark that reveals we are your true disciples. Amen.