Stairway to Heaven

Date: Friday, January 16, 2026

Jacob is on the run, sleeping with a rock for a pillow in the middle of nowhere. He’s a fugitive from his own brother’s murderous rage. And it’s right there, in the dirt and the isolation, that the heavens crack open. The Ladder or stairway to heaven (cue up Led Zeppelin) in Genesis 28 isn’t Jacob’s achievement; it’s God’s initiative. God descends to meet a man who is currently at his lowest point.

The promise given to Abraham is renewed here to a man who, quite honestly, doesn’t deserve it yet. But that’s the point of progressive revelation. God is building a bridge between heaven and earth. Fast forward to the New Testament, and Jesus tells Nathanael that He is that ladder (John 1:51). He is the point of contact where the divine invades the mundane. Your rock-pillow moments aren’t signs of God’s absence; they are often the very places where He strolls into your camp.

Psalm 16 echoes this beautifully: ‘Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.’ Jacob was seeking safety from Esau, but he found something better; the presence of the Almighty. He realizes, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’ Are you aware? Or are you so focused on your problems that you’ve missed the portal of grace right in front of you? God isn’t waiting for you at the finish line; He’s meeting you in the wilderness.

Devotional Prompts:

Identify a wilderness season in your life right now. How might God be in that place without you realizing it?
If Jesus is the ladder connecting heaven and earth, how does that change your approach to daily prayer and ordinary moments?
How does the assurance of Psalm 16, that God will not abandon you, reshape your current anxieties?

Prayer: Father, open my eyes to see Your presence in the places I least expect it. Thank You for being the God who descends to meet me in my mess. You are my refuge and my portion forever. Amen.