I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land. —Genesis 31:13
There are things about you that only God knows. You have told nobody, but God has a way of getting inside your heart with a single word. This is the way He conquers the hardest heart and the greatest skeptic with his closed spirit.
Nobody but Jacob knew about Bethel. Bethel was a place so special to Jacob, and God knew exactly what to say. Jacob was so discouraged; he felt he had nothing to live for. And then God turned up with these words: “I am the God of Bethel.” God could have introduced Himself by saying, “I am the God of your father, I am the God of Abraham, I am the God of Isaac.” But He chose to introduce Himself in such a way that Jacob knew it was the true God.
You may ask why Jacob waited twenty years to hear these words. I can’t explain God’s timing, but I know it is perfect. God sees the end from the beginning, but He knows we want answers now. It must hurt Him to see our pain, and He longs for the moment He can speak to us. But it will be at the time when it is best for us, and when He finally steps in, we will have no complaints.
It could be that you are struggling with a situation that is very painful, and you ask, “Lord, can You see what they are doing?” You may think you cannot go on because of the pressure you are under. But the God of Bethel is the God who sees. He knows what you are feeling. He sees what they are doing.
God said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). The God of Bethel will speak, and He will withhold nothing from you that is good.
Excerpted from All’s Well That Ends Well (Authentic Media, 2005).
