“What are you doing here?”

A “through the bible” devotion from Genesis 27 and 28.

“The Lord is certainly in this place, and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16).

I think it’s interesting that Jacob thought that he was leaving God behind when he ran away from home. After disguising himself as his Esau get his father’s blessing, his older brother is ready to kill him. Mom says, “Why don’t you go away until he cools off. You can go visit your uncle Laban.” (Genesis 27:43,44)

When Jacob wakes up from a vivid dream about angels, a ladder, and God himself, he’s amazed. “How about that? I never expected to find God out here in the middle of nowhere.”

When someone mentions a “house of God” I immediately think of a church building. But sometimes I talk to him while I’m out walking the dog. Yes, the dog will sometimes glance up at me like I’m crazy. I have to assure her, “Just keep walking; I’m not talking to you.”

I’ll chat with God in the car, imagining him riding shotgun. With the way other people are driving, I’ll often ask for a couple of extra angels to get me safely to my destination.

I’ve heard folks comment that they feel close to God when they are out walking through the woods or sitting out on the beach watching the ocean, or looking up into the night sky.

Jacob, however, wonders, “What are you doing here?” Rather than feeling blessed, Jacob’s deception has made a mess of his life. In moments like that, you might think that God really doesn’t want anything to do with you. But that’s never the case. Rather, he’s the one we can be certain will never abandon us.