by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
In Genesis 28:16-17, Jacob wakes up from his dream of the ladder and says, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not know it<\/em>.”<\/p>\n He wasn’t praying. He wasn’t worshiping. He wasn’t even in a good spiritual place. He was running from the consequences of his own deception. Yet God meets him right there.<\/p>\nThis moment reminds us that God’s presence isn’t limited to holy spaces or holy moods. He shows up in the middle of our mess, our fear, our confusion, and our running. Sometimes we assume God is far away because we’re not doing well spiritually. But Jacob’s story says otherwise. If you’re in a place where God feels distant, don’t trust that feeling. He may be nearer than you think, working behind the scenes, speaking in ways you haven’t noticed yet. Pay attention. God meets people in unexpected places.<\/p>\n “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I didn’t know it … How awesome is this place<\/em>” (Genesis 28:16-17).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Zeke Flores In Genesis 28:16-17, Jacob wakes up from his dream of the ladder and says, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not know it.” He wasn’t praying. He wasn’t worshiping. He wasn’t even in a good spiritual place. He was running from the consequences of his own deception. Yet God…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[90,1513],"class_list":["post-93848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-god","tag-relationships"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41606,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-keep-committing-fornication-though-we-try-not-to\/","url_meta":{"origin":93848,"position":0},"title":"We keep committing fornication, though we try not to","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been with my boyfriend for a little over a year now. We are in our 20s. He got closer to God when he went to jail. He got out and he started reading to me and getting me closer to God. We've made mistakes though. We have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28252,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-help-me-with-some-questions-from-an-atheist\/","url_meta":{"origin":93848,"position":1},"title":"Can you help me with some questions from an atheist?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I appreciate so much your willingness to answer questions. Here are the things which confuse me from an atheist: Why did Adam and Eve realize they were naked when there was not yet a concept of being clothed? Why was Adam lonely when he was in a perfect place\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47122,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-think-god-hears-every-prayer-i-pray\/","url_meta":{"origin":93848,"position":2},"title":"Do you think God hears every prayer I pray?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you think God hears every prayer I pray? Is He busy sometimes answering someone else? Why does the Bible say in some verses \"God heard their shout?\" Is that just the way it was written? I could find the verses, but I'm sure you remember. Answer: \"Now this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95232,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gods-job-is-perfection-our-job-is-pressing-on\/","url_meta":{"origin":93848,"position":3},"title":"God’s Job is Perfection; Our Job is Pressing On","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier What a statement Paul made in Philippians 3:12. He had not already obtained the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Neither was he already perfect. Don't forget Paul's circumstance in writing. He was in prison. For all he knew, he was going to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4656,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-is-closer-to-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":93848,"position":4},"title":"Who is Closer to God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 23, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bob Pulliam Now don't get me wrong! This is not a contest mentality being advocated here. But the question does enter my mind. I surfed over a channel the other day where people had the lights dimmed low, all were holding candles and swaying while singing\u00a0Alleluia. I'm not trying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Emotional Worship","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/emotionalWorship.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":90863,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-danger-of-quietly-walking-away\/","url_meta":{"origin":93848,"position":5},"title":"The Danger of Quietly Walking Away","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Cleve Stafford Picture yourself out on the open water in a small boat. The waves are gentle, the wind mild, and the sun warm on your face. You close your eyes just for a moment to enjoy the peace. But when you open them again, you realize something chilling:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/drifting-300x169.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93848\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nGod is often closer than we realize. We just don’t recognize Him until after the moment passes.\n