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,"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_featured_media_url":"","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":95232,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gods-job-is-perfection-our-job-is-pressing-on\/","url_meta":{"origin":93848,"position":1},"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":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":28155,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-peter-say-that-perhaps-god-would-forgive-simon\/","url_meta":{"origin":93848,"position":3},"title":"Why did Peter say that perhaps God would forgive Simon?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 21, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I a question for you regarding a scripture. It was a passage that you showed\u00a0someone grappling with blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. \"Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps\u00a0the thought of your heart may be forgiven you\" (Acts 8:22) I am sure I am misunderstanding\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":52544,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-sometimes-show-favoritism\/","url_meta":{"origin":93848,"position":4},"title":"Does God sometimes show favoritism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Acts 10:34-35, Peter said, \"I now realize God does not show favoritism but accepts men who fear him and do what is right\". I believe sometimes God shows favoritism. In Romans 9:13 and Malachi 1:2-3, it is written: \"Jacob I love, Esau I hated.\" Here God favored Jacob\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":95501,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-god-wants-everyone-saved-why-does-he-harden-some\/","url_meta":{"origin":93848,"position":5},"title":"If God wants everyone saved, why does He harden some?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, Scripture says God wills all to be saved (I Timothy 2:4), yet Paul says that God hardens whom He wills, and that we are not to talk back to God or question why He hardens vessels of wrath such as Pharaoh (Romans 9:16-19) How can the two be\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":[]}],"_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