GENESIS 28:16 SYNDROME

There's a story about Jacob's dream in Bethel( formerly called Luz) in Genesis 28. He saw a stairway leading to heaven with angels of God ascending and descending. God arranged that encounter and He made trans generational promises to him. That encounter was a meeting with destiny. Unfortunately, Jacob was not sensitive to know that God had encountered him to institute a generational blessing. How did I know that Jacob didn't know he met God? In the latter part of the opening text, he said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it". That's something worth considering. You may think what he said was a humble statement but it is not. He meant exactly what he said.

Jacob didn't know/ understand the weight of what God had promised him in verses 13-15. If he had understood the details of that encounter, he wouldn't have made these statements in verses 20-12: "Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God". How can he say such after all that God told him? He said, "If God will indeed be with me", whereas God already told him in verse 15, "What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you". All these shows that Jacob missed out on something in that encounter. Painfully, He didn't know God was where he was. Tacitly, Jacob was begging God for provision whereas God promised him a nation. Will God promise to give a man a nation without making plans on how to feed him?

It is a terrible thing to be in a place where God is and not be sensitive to know God is there. The resultant effect will always be like that of Jacob's. God will speak, make the future clear and give promises yet the man God is speaking to may not understand. Insensitivity to God's presence and move is the major reason why people miss God. Jacob thought Luz was just a destination in his sojourn. The place may not have any aura of the supernatural yet that was God's appointed place of destiny encounter for him. This often happens in church circle. I have seen how people miss God because they feel God will speak to them through a "great servant of God" whereas, He has ordained an encounter for them in their present church whose Pastor may not be deemed "great" by men. Some may even change their church to the happening church in town thinking they'll find Him in popular places. Sometimes, when God is coming for you, He may come unannounced and casually. The place and the person bringing His word to you may not fit into your ideal image of a carrier of God's word. At all times and wherever we find ourselves, we must stay sensitive to be able to recognize God.