Where is the special place where you encountered God and your life was changed forever? Where is that place that symbolizes the presence of God in your life — the place that you cannot be near without special memories flooding across your mind?
All of us have such places. For some it may be a secluded place where one struggled alone with God until coming to the point of full surrender. For some, it might be a more common place, like a spot in the house, where one experienced the changing presence of God through prayer and Bible study.
For most it is probably the church one faithfully attends Sunday after Sunday. So many important things happened at the church it may be hard to count them. Just to drive by the building is a reminder of God’s presence, God’s power, God’s direction. There one’s life was changed. There one’s life has been sustained.
One such place mentioned in the Bible is Bethel. The story begins in Genesis 28:10 ff. Jacob was on his way to Paddan-aram. In part, he searched for a wife. In part, he fled the wrath of his brother Esau. Near the city of Luz, north of Jerusalem, he went to sleep and had a dream. During the night he dreamed of a ladder let down from heaven with angels ascending and descending. At the top of the ladder, God stood and spoke blessings to Jacob.
The next morning Jacob declared God had been in that place and called the spot “Bethel.” He stacked stones together to make a pillar and set the stone that had served as his pillow on the top of the pile. Then he poured oil over the top of the pillar and made a vow with God. It was an experience Jacob never forgot.
Decades later, and once again in trouble, Jacob headed back to Bethel (Gen. 35). He could not return to this special place with the spiritual corruption in which he had lived for years. He ordered all the “foreign gods” removed from the people and buried them in the ground.
When he arrived at Bethel his first act was to build an altar to God that recalled the special event God had done in his life years earlier. Once again God appeared to Jacob. This time, the blessing pronounced on Abraham and Isaac was extended to Jacob. In response, Jacob built another stone pillar as a sign of remembrance and worship.
Like Jacob, we mark places to remind us and others of their importance. It might be a place like the famous rock on which the Pilgrims set foot in the new world in 1620. It could be like the obelisk that sits on the perimeter of Williams College in Massachusetts marking the site of the Haystack Revival, the event that began the missionary movement in the United States. It could be an Alabama historical sign along the side of a road. They all serve the same purpose as Jacob’s stone pillars. They declare each location an important place. They declare that something special occurred on this spot.
Church buildings may not have physical markers scattered throughout, but practically every member has markers in his or her memory. Some members can point to the seat where they sat the night they finally decided to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. During a time of personal struggle a special Christian friend, perhaps the pastor, spent hours listening to one’s problems — many can still see the places those conversations took place.
Some remember the dedication of children. Some remember funerals. Some weddings. Some baptisms or other rites of the Christian life. In each one God was present. He was present to fill hearts with joy. He was present to strengthen when there was no strength left. He was there to renew hope. He was there to give life now and for eternity.
Just to walk through the auditorium is to review God’s work in one’s life. Yes, remembering the funeral can bring unexpected tears and, yes, remembering the wedding renews the smiles of joy. But it is not the sadness or the joy that one ultimately recounts. It is the faithfulness of God. In happy times, sad times and in-between times, God “was a very present help.” And wherever God is, it is a holy place.
Like Jacob, it is hard to come near one’s important holy place with life full of spiritual corruption. To be reminded of the importance of God by a place is also to be reminded of all the “foreign gods” that creep into life and need to be buried in the sands of repentance. Perhaps then God can speak blessings to us again just as He did to Jacob.
But none of this will happen unless one turns back toward one’s personal Bethel — one’s own holy place — and remembers the God who made Himself known there. The next time you walk by your personal holy place, whether it be your church auditorium or some other site, stop and reflect on the events of that place and how you have experienced God’s faithfulness there.
Share with others: