How do you recall journeys you have taken? One of my children remembers them by the places and the foods eaten. He will say something like “that’s where we ate at…” and name the restaurant, “the pizza was so good.”
Another way to recall journeys is to recollect the numbers of the roads traveled, such as “we took the I-275 and then the I-4.” That’s certainly not my way of remembering! I am more likely to say “I passed the Burlington mall,” or “it took me past the Yankees stadium…” Recalling those landmarks on my next journey, would help me be sure of where I was going.
When God next spoke to Jacob on the next step of his journey, he gave him an instruction
Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives…
but he also repeated the same promise that he had given Jacob before on the journey from Beersheba to Harran.
“and I will be with you” (Genesis 31:3).
The promise in God’s instruction gave Jacob a landmark from the previous journey that would reassure him on this new journey. Jacob knew where he was going because he could recall how God had been with him before.
And Jacob did just that.
As Jacob considered going back to the land he had come from, he said this to his wives, Rachel and Leah:
“I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me (Genesis 31:5).
And:
You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me (Genesis 31:6-7).
Jacob, through all the ups and downs of his life from that moment when God first spoke to him in a dream remembered that God would be with him.
And with those memories and reassurances for his journey, Jacob packed up everything and took his family and left.
What will you recall about God’s goodness on the next step of your journey? Some of you shared the wonderful promises of God that you hold onto as you walk through life.
What landmarks in your life reassure you that God is with you? Please share in the comments and encourage us all.
Use this prayer.
Pray
