I love to watch God work in people's' lives. Even more, I love to experience His work in my life.
Out of the abundance of our God's grace, mercy, and providence, he turns the hard times into immeasurable blessings. Only by the power of God can a hard stone turn into a pillow of blessing. That's what He did for Jacob, and I've witnessed this transformation in my own life as well as in the lives of others. I've also read about it in the biographies and accounts of Christians who had a stone for their pillow.
Jacob fled for his life from his twin brother, Esau, after tricking their father, Isaac, into giving him the blessing. The blessing rightfully belonged to Esau, the older of the two brothers. When Esau discovered the deception, he became murderously mad and went after Jacob.
Jacob was an unlikely candidate to receive the promise that God gave to his grandfather, Abraham, which wasn't fulfilled until the Hebrews occupied the Promised Land. But, God had said at the twins birth that the younger, Jacob, would inherit the promise instead of the older, rightful heir, Esau.
The working out of God's promise was fraught with doubt, drama and danger as is all the promises that God gives to us. Jacob's adverse situation caused him stress and anxiety. He was always looking over his shoulder. He was always looking back to try and detect any sign that Esau was closing in on him.
On his way to Paddan Aram to find a wife among his people, Jacob laid down on the hard ground using a stone for his pillow. His sleep was fitful, restless, and taut with tension. He dreamed of a ladder with angels ascending and descending on it that caused him great anxiety. He woke up in terror. And exclaimed, "God lives here! I've stumbled into God's home! This is the awesome entrance to heaven!” (Genesis 28:10-12). Such a vision of glory would be anyone's nightmare. It is enough to send any mortal to his/her knees.
In that horror, Jacob heard the voice of God. "The ground you are lying on is yours! I will give it to you and to your descendants" (Genesis 28:13). This is one of the strangest promises ever conceived. The place of my humiliation, the place of my collapse, will become the place of my conquest.
It is not uncommon for a person in the hour of adversity to have hope and a vision of a better fortune. But this promise is different. It is remarkable in how bizarre it is. God said, "The ground you are lying on is yours!" There is a time coming in which your glory shall consist in the very thing which now constitutes your pain. Nothing could be more dismal to Jacob than the ground on which he was lying. It was the hour of his poverty. It was the season of his night. It was the seeming absence of God.
But God declares that this rejected moment is to be the scene of his glory. "The ground you are lying on is yours!" The place of your prostration will be your paradise." There is no promise in the world so bewildering and yet so sweet to a distressed soul as this.
The promise of God's deliverance from the dungeons of adversity and fear is dear, but it is not as precious as this promise! God turns my hard bed into a restful bed. His power turns my pillow of stone into the pillow of fire that rises above me giving me hope and direction. The hard ground and the disconsolate rock cradling my weary head will be my possession and comfort.
When God says, "The ground you are lying on is yours," this indeed is victory. It is the Easter after Calvary. It is the resurrection in grave clothes. Ask the great ones of the past what has been the spot of their blessing. They will say, "It was the cold ground on which I once was lying." Ask Abraham. He will point you to the ram given for the sacrifice on Moriah. Ask Joseph. He will direct you to his prison. Ask Moses. He will direct you to his deliverance from the death waters of the Nile. Ask Ruth. God built her monument of deliverance in the field of her toil. Ask David. He will tell you that his song came from the night. Ask Job. He will remind you that God answered him out of the whirlwind. Ask Peter. He will extol his submersion in the sea. Ask John. He will say it was the exile to desolate Patmos where Christ revealed Himself in glorious splendor. Ask Paul. He will attribute his inspiration to the light which struck him blind. Ask one more. The Son of Man. From the cold ground on which He was lying, He arose to rule heaven and earth. From Gethsemane's hard ground, He received His scepter of sovereignty.
Likewise, my soul too shall receive the garland of honor through Gethsemane's agony. The cup of suffering that I prayed would pass me by will be formed into my trumpet. The hour of my loneliness will crown me. The day of my depression will be transformed into a day of unsurpassable joy. My desert will break forth into flowers. The trees of my silent forest will clap their hands. My fearful place will become my place of courage to go forth into victory. My thorns will be roses. My valleys will be the hills from where my help from God arises. My crooked path will be made into a straight highway of holiness. The shadows will flee as the Light of Life breaks over the Eastern horizon. My losses will be gain, and my tears of restless suffering will be refined by fire into gold. The voice of God coming to me on my rocky pillow will say, "My treasure is hid in the ground where I lay."
“I am The Lord, the God of Abraham, and of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on is yours!"
May your eyes of faith be opened to see that your hard ground of suffering is the ground of promise because God loves you and works in every adversity for your good and His glory. Listen to Laura Story's beautiful song of confidence in the Lord's goodness titled "Blessings." Click the link. Or, click the arrow in the embedded video.
The inspiration for my post came from George Matheson's inspiring book of devotions, Thoughts for the Journey, page 264 entry "True Victory Over Sorrow." Click the link to read online in adobe. https://ia600304.us.archive.org/15/items/thoughtsforlifes00math/thoughtsforlifes00math.pdf
Here is a link to download Matheson's entire book for free on Kindle. (See options in left corner box of this archive page.)
Here is a link to download Matheson's entire book for free on Kindle. (See options in left corner box of this archive page.)
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