Recognizing His Presence

A sequel to: "GOD IS THERE / GOD IS HERE"

In my earlier devotional, I presented a thought that we could be oblivious to the fact that God's presence is with us, when we are in a time of crisis.

And this thought stems right out of that concept, to emphasize that it is indeed very much possible to recognize His presence, during such times - though often times we fail to see Him then.

Here's a couple of thoughts on how we can break that trend, and see Him when we need Him the most.


We pick up on Jacob's story again after he rued the fact that he hadn't recognized God's presence earlier - cf. Genesis 28:16b - "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it"


4 chapters later ... Jacob is now returning back to his hometown, the land of Canaan (Genesis 31:17,18), after spending a few years working for his Uncle, Laban - who now becomes his father-in-law.


Genesis 32:1,2 - "Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, 'This is the camp of God!'".

It's an interesting passage, because here's a man who didn't recognize God .. but in this particular instance, without any introduction from the angels, he recognized them as God's hosts.

And a few hours later that night in vs.22-31 (*26) - we see that Jacob recognized God, who appeared in the form of a man and wrestled with him.

So, herein lies the assurance that it is very much possible to move from a place of NOT recognizing God, to a place of seeing Him no matter how He appears or reveals Himself.

The disciples reveal an attitude in that they found it hard to believe in Jesus, when He appeared in a form that was not familiar to them (cf. Mark 4:41; 6:49).


How was that possible, with Jacob?
Things hadn't changed much with him on the outside.
The departure scene had nothing much to ride home about, as Jacob fled without bidding proper farewell (31:20,21) - in fact, he was running away from his father-in-law, when he had gone to shear his sheep (31:19).
And his wife Rachel, stole her father's household gods (vs.19), which Jacob didn't even know about (vs.32).
So, overall it was NOT a very pleasant atmosphere in that household - height of deception, cheating, lying, etc.

And the trend with Jacob seems to continue on, in that he is selfish and looks for his own personal gain.

But, what went right for Jacob this time around - which enabled him to see the presence of God with him?

I think the key is in a restored relationship, which should be pursued in God's spirit.
Let me explain.

In chp.28:16 - Jacob didn't realize God's presence, as he just comes from a strained relationship with his brother, after having deceived him in at least a couple of occasions - once when he made him sell his birthright to him and secondly, when he received the blessing from his father Isaac, pretending to be Esau.


But over the years of staying with Laban, he had proved faithful to his Uncle, and served all those years for his wives .. and now eventually, at God's Word (cf. 31:3), he's headed back to the land of his father.
Jacob headed back to his hometown, on the basis that God told him to do that.
So, the first principle in recognizing God is doing what God wants us to do.

- Are we doing what He is asking us to do? If so, the chances of recognizing Him are very high.


The second principle is setting relationships right.

Jacob had a couple of relationships, which he needed to work on:
a) with Laban, his father-in-law (31:45-55).
- Though this relationship mend came about Laban taking the initiative and his submission to God's dream in vs.24 - nevertheless, it was set right now.

b) with Esau, his brother (32:1-21)
- with Esau he had just made up his mind to set things right, by paying a price (32:13-21).


Not surprisingly, on both occasions when the relationship was restored or when it was on the verge of being restored, he was able to recognize the presence of God.


The question is obviously, are we running away from a strained relationship as Jacob did in the first place, when he failed to see His presence; or
Are we in the process of setting things right .. and as a result seeing the very presence of God in our day-to-day routine and/or circumstances?