How God shows up (Genesis 28:16)
Welcome to my weekly Faith and Family Business reflections, where I (briefly) probe important questions that arise in family business – questions relating to behavior, relationships and legacy – from the angle of a Biblical story. For more information about this series, click here.
After Jacob leaves his family because of the conflict with Esau, he stops to rest. While sleeping, he has a dream in which God, standing above a ladder, makes promises to him.
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” (Gen. 28:16)
Until this point in Jacob’s life, even throughout the drama with his brother, God has been relatively silent. But now, while Jacob is alone and resting, God speaks, and does so through a dream.
God chooses different ways to enter in to our lives. God may come to us in a dream, or God may enter through a quiet time of prayer or reflection. God may speak to us in nature, or God may appear through a life-altering event, like an an unexpected blessing or a frightening accident. And God’s presence often touches us through others: a family member who demonstrates forgiveness, or a friend who listens, or challenges, and makes us better; a team member who shows care and concern, or even a stranger who offers help just when we need it.
Have you ever experienced - whether through dreams, events, or relationships - the presence or guidance of God? What practices, perspectives, or places tend to give you a sense of God’s companionship?
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