Surely the LORD Is In This Place...

Lassen Volcanic National Park in Mineral, California

When I photograph sunrises and sunsets, snow-capped mountains, giant Redwood trees in ancient forests, beautiful gardens, etc.  I often think of the words found in Genesis 28:16: “Surely the LORD is in this place.” But there’s more to that verse than I just quoted. I’ll share the rest of it a bit further down. But first let me remind us that God is present everywhere, not just in the beautiful places. For example, God is very present in hospitals, in homeless shelters, in war zones, and in all kinds of unlikely places.

David knew about the omnipresence of God, for he said to Him,

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,

even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is as bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

~Psalm 139:8-12, ESV

God is very present everywhere, even in places no human eye has ever seen, even in the darkest of places! The problem is that we, like Jacob, often fail to consider that He could be in unlikely places, specifically that He could be with us, especially when our lives are anything but beautiful. So, like Jacob, we must acknowledge, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16, ESV, emphasis added). Once we truly sense His presence, then we, like Jacob, will respond to Him in some way. Perhaps we'll praise Him or thank Him. Perhaps we'll beg Him to help us.