Wake Up! and see the Gate of Heaven

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” Genesis 28:16-17

When we awake from our sleep we will surely know that the Lord is in this place. What place you might ask, the very place where you are! If you do not see God in your place you are asleep. The Bible says in Him we live, we move and we have our being. God’s image is on everyman. The circumstances of Jacob’s visitation from the Lord were a closed past and a completely uncertain future. A stone served as his pillow, the air his blanket and the stars his roof. However the Lord blessed him and his descendents in that very condition.

Jacob’s reflection was to believe that he had stumbled open the gate of heaven. Do we believe that the gate of heaven is limited by geography or time? We are told that we can boldly enter into the throne room of God. How? “let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy” Isaiah 26:19 says. What causes us to sleep? Often it is a preoccupation with the cares of this world. We may be on a path that steals the word of God from our soul; we may be shallow and get burned up by the heat of life around us, we may be consumed by the close quarters we find ourselves in. It does not matter if we are aware of the presence of God.. if we are awake... the Lord is there. You may ask me to explain evil places. Could the prison cell that confined Peter for preaching the Gospel have been a holy place? It was when Peter arrived there. The prayers of the saints created and avenue for an angel to lead him out. Then he woke up and praised God for his deliverance. (Acts 12) Every place where we are sent is holy ground if we are holy.

Acts 16 tells us the history of Paul and Silas confined in a similar cell but their praise caused the angels to shake the earth. A sleeping jailer was about to kill himself when he saw the broken prison cell walls and doors. However the prisons Paul and Silas made the place holy. They stayed and awakened that jailer to the Gospel and he was publically baptized. Awake now the jailer also was able to praise God.

I encourage on this day to wake up and believe God, and know for certainty, that you are in an awesome place, the gate of heaven and in the presence of the Lord.