Today the lectionary kicked me to one of my favorite stories, in Genesis 28. Jacob is traveling, and he comes across what the Bible calls “A certain place.” I absolutely love that. It’s not a special place. This isn’t the remove your shoes because you’re standing on holy ground kind of place. This is just some random place out in the middle of the wilderness. It’s so unimpressive that Jacob just lays down and goes to sleep.
But, that’s where God meets him. Jacob has this incredible dream, seeing heaven and earth in a whole new light, and hears from God a vision for Jacob’s future. When he wakes up he says “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it!”
The whole scene makes me wonder how many certain places there are in our lives. Where are the places that you least expect God to show up and do something spectacular? Maybe those places are the most Holy. Maybe those places are the places that God most wants to work in our lives. And certain places don’t have to be physical locales either. A certain place could easily be a certain relationship you don’t expect to see God show up. A certain place could easily be a tough work environment. A certain place could be your own anxieties and doubts about yourself. God can show up just about any place that God pleases.
So my encouragement today would be to be on the look out for certain places. We never know when God may have a word to speak to us!