Unaware?

"As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.

At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, 'I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 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.'

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!'” Genesis 28:12-16 NLT

I woke up thinking about Jacob today. Jacob was on his way to find a wife. While on his journey he had a dream. In his dream the Lord revealed Himself, His plans for Jacob and His blessing for him. That isn't what had me thinking about Jacob. It was his statement after he awoke from the dream, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”

I wonder how many times we go through our lives unaware of the presence of God? I've heard it said that God is speaking, but we have "static" in our receivers that keeps us from hearing Him. He is moving. The Greek word for the Holy Spirit is wind. The wind blows. The Spirit of God moves. But do we recognize the Holy wind of God around us?

There are obstacles to being aware of the presence of God and His activity around us. We can get caught up in our agendas. The daily demands of life keep us too busy to slow down and observe God at work. We are afraid to think that God still speaks and reveals Himself. We are afraid to think of what He may say or ask of us. Maybe, we are afraid of what others might think if we acknowledge that we see and hear the Lord.

So, are you aware of the presence of the Lord in your life? Can you feel Him moving? Do you recognize His voice?

More to come...