Sometimes God Shows Up...

"Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord."

Genesis 28:10-13

Sometimes God shows up in the least expected of places. As Jacob is fleeing for his life, running away from his dysfunctional family, God shows up and gives him an enormous vision for his future and the future of the world. Jacob was probably more interested in God providing some food for the next day or safe passage through the desert - after all, he didn’t have even enough clothes with him to roll up into a pillow. But God told him about his offspring covering the earth and being a blessing to every nation.

This is not unlike how God showed up in a cow barn two thousand years ago, but this time not in a vision but in person. When Mary and Joseph probably just wanted God to provide them with a bed, instead they got God’s own Son, in the flesh… and a flock of angels, some shepherds, and a few foreigners who were the ’spiritual seeker' type. 

Perhaps God is interested in showing up in your life today - your ordinary life, your crisis-filled life, your dysfunctional family life, your “I need a new job” life. And, instead of giving immediate answers to those situations, perhaps God is more interested in reminding you that you are part of his enormous story and that you have an important part to play in it regardless of present circumstances. Take some time to listen for him today.