Genesis: Jacob was a prototype for the lonely single

I've been reading about Jacob for a week (or maybe more...? It's been slow going in Genesis lately), and I noticed a couple interesting things about him that I hadn't thought of before.

When Jacob left his home, he was sent away by his parents, under threat of death from his brother, and really probably running away, to some degree, from his past. He was in a place of needing to go forward, but not necessarily having any idea about what that "forward" was going to look like in execution.

I have developed a kinship with Jacob. I can relate.

I think that for many of us - and by "us" I mean in particular my peers who find themselves in similar life situations as I do - we are in Jacob's shoes. We're moving forward to something, namely our futures, but we don't really know when we're going to get there, what we'll find when we're there, or what we'll do once we've arrived. Sound familiar? Welcome to life!

It's striking to me that God came and appeared in a powerful, personal, astounding way to Jacob when he was in that place.

Picture the scene with me: Jacob has left home, sent off by his parents, and recognizing that he really wasn't welcome there at that particular point in life. There was no going back. He's carrying his stuff on his back, he's heading to a place where he's never been, to see people he's never seen. He's been walking. It's getting late in the day. The sun starts to go down. If there was ever someone who probably felt lonely, Jacob was that man. He needed to sleep, to regain strength for the next day. But to do that would require entering into the extremely vulnerable state of sleeping. He didn't have anyone with him who would help protect him or his stuff, or at least provide companionship to cover the long, long miles.

But he doesn't really have a choice. So he does what he has to do - turns over a rock, lays down, and sleeps.

And then God appears.

But God doesn't just show up, oh no, God does things in his typically lavish God fashion. He comforts Jacob - telling him not to be afraid. He reminds Jacob of his past and God's faithfulness and ties to Jacob's family. He helps Jacob recall the foundation that Jacob's life has been built on. He gives Jacob a reason to trust - by telling Jacob that he will be protected. And he gives Jacob a hope for the future - the gift of the land that Jacob is sleeping on. God assures Jacob that he WILL, indeed, return this way again.

And he does all this while showing Jacob the picture of a staircase, which couldn't have been all too common in its spectacular grandness in those days.

Wow.

When I'm feeling moments of loneliness or self-pity, I want to remember this passage. I want to remember the promised God has given me, the ways he's working in the everyday, and the promises he's given me for my future.