A Wonderful Dream

TEXT: Genesis 28:1-22

A LONG, long time ago there lived a young man named Jacob. He lived with his mother and father and brother.

One day Jacob’s mother told him to go and visit his uncle. Jacob’s uncle lived a long, long way away. Jacob was going to have to walk all the way. There were not any busses or trains or cars in those days.

Jacob started out to go to his uncle’s house. Walk, walk, walk, he went. All day long Jacob walked. The roads were not smooth like our streets. They were rough and dusty. Maybe Jacob liked walking along the road at first. There were so many new things to see, but he probably was very tired by the time the day was over.

After a while it started to get a little dark. Now Jacob walked slower and slower. He was getting tired and sleepy. There was not a single house out where he was. Not a hotel. Not any place for him to go to bed. He was going to have to fix a place to sleep there by the road.

Jacob was not afraid to sleep out there all by himself in the dark. Some boys and girls do not like the dark. God Himself made the dark. He made the moon and the stars to shine in the sky, to peek through the dark; and it is good to have a quiet time with God when it gets dark.

Jacob was not afraid. He must have moved some of the rocks to make a place that would not be too bumpy. He found some smooth rocks to use for a pillow. Then Jacob lay down and wrapped his coat around him.

Jacob lay there looking up at the stars. How quiet everything was! Jacob saw the

stars twinkling in the dark sky. He knew God was up there in Heaven, but he did not know if God was down there in the dark with him or not. God let him know that He

was there. God is everywhere. No matter where you go or how long you stay, God is with you all the time. God loves you.

Poor Jacob had walked a long way that day. He was so tired when he lay down that he went right to sleep. While Jacob was sleeping he had a wonderful dream. A dream is something you see or think while you are asleep.

He dreamed he saw a bright, shiny ladder that was so long that it reached high, high up into the sky. That ladder reached right up to Heaven. Beautiful angels were walking up and down the ladder from Heaven.

At the very, very tip-top of the ladder was the best of all. God, the heavenly Father, stood there and talked to Jacob.

God said to Jacob, “I will be with you where ever you go. I am with you and I will keep you safe. I will go with you and I will bring you back home again. I will never leave you.”

When Jacob woke up he did not feel lonesome any more. He then knew that God was there with him all the time. He knew God would take care of him there just as He did at home. Jacob must have thought: “I should have known that God is here. Here are the mountains He made. Here is the sunshine to make the day bright and warm; and last night, I saw God’s stars in the dark sky. Yes, God is everywhere.”

Jacob wanted to do something to thank God for His love to him after he had that wonderful dream. He took the rock he had used for a pillow and stood it up on one end. Then he poured some oil on top of it. That is the way people used to show their thanks to God a long, long time ago, before Jesus came to teach them how to pray.

Jacob was so happy that God had let him know that He was always with him. He told God that if He would go with him to his uncle’s and bring him back home to his mother and father again, he would always love Him and would give God part of what he had.

God is still watching over His children today and He takes care of them in the dark and in the light. He knows just what you did today and where you went. He knows how you acted and what you said. Did you make God happy today?