WAKE UP!

“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” ~ Genesis 28:16

REFERENCE:

Genesis 28:10-18

We often miss opportunities because we are unaware of them and blinded to them. Imagine if you saw all the opportunities life presented you and took advantage of them; where would your life be today? Our success or failure in life is a product of the opportunities we took and improved upon or those we missed or ignored. Jacob nearly missed an opportunity.

Jacob was a fugitive, running away from his brother. He was running away from all he knew into a future he knew not. As a result of fatigue, he laid down and slept at a nondescript ‘certain place.’ However, when asleep, he dreamt and saw a ladder whose top reached heaven, with angels ascending and descending on it. At the top of the ladder, God Himself appeared to cut a covenant with Jacob and invoked blessings upon him. Jacob woke up startled and retorted, “The Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” After all, that place was not just a certain place; it was the gate of heaven, the house of the God of Israel.

I often ask myself, “If Jacob knew that was the gate of heaven, would he have slept all night?” Most likely not. He would have prayed and tabled his present and future before God. He would have sought the face of God for matters of importance and received a blueprint for his life. But for the mercy of God, Jacob would have slept through the greatest opportunity of his life – he was privileged to see where heaven opens to the earth and angels interact with mankind, but he slept.

Are you in a place in life that you consider to be ‘a certain place?’ A ‘certain’ office, school, shop, friendship, training, boss, etc., that you see nothing special or significant about? It is not that these places, things, or people do not have great opportunities, it may just be that you are ‘asleep’ – tired from your hustle, setbacks, rejection, and bad decisions. Wake up and look a little closer. Proverbs 10:5 (AMP) says, “He who gathers during summer and takes advantage of his opportunities is a son who acts wisely, but he who sleeps during harvest and ignores the moment of opportunity is a son who acts shamefully.” The Prophet’s widow in 2 Kings 4 had an oil jar of opportunity in her house but was blind (asleep) to it until Elisha opened her eyes to it.

Wake up and look around you – your school, office, neighborhood, or house. Check your network, certification, social media, skills, or natural flair for something. You may just be sleeping on a pot of gold and not know it. Impact, relevance, and wealth may be all around you, but you know not. Wake up, wake up, wake up, and take all that God has for you.

PHOTO QUOTE

ADDITIONAL TEXTS:

Genesis 21:14-19, Isaiah 55:6 & Ephesians 5:15-17

PRAYERS:

+ Lord, wake me up from every form of slumber that is robbing me of my potential and prosperity.

+ Lord, open my eyes to the extraordinary in the ordinary things and places around me. Please help me to see the treasure in thrash, wealth in waste, and breakthrough in disappointment. In Jesus’ name.

+ Shine your light all around me, and cause me to see what I need to live victoriously.