“So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it” (Genesis 28:18 ESV).
While fleeing from his brother and sleeping alone in a barren wilderness, Jacob received a gracious revelation of God’s presence and promise through the dream of the heavenly ladder. In response, Jacob rose early and acted immediately. He took the stone that had served as his pillow and set it upright as a pillar. What had been an ordinary, uncomfortable object was transformed into a sacred memorial. Jacob did not treat God’s revelation casually; he marked the place where he had experienced heaven touching earth. By pouring oil on the stone, Jacob consecrated it, setting it apart as holy. This act demonstrated Jacob’s gratitude, worship, and dedication, and he named the place, “Bethel,” meaning the “house of God,” because the LORD had made His presence known there.
We are reminded that God often meets us in our hardest and most barren places, just as He met Jacob in the wilderness. Like that stone pillow, our seasons of discomfort and uncertainty can become places of rest when God reveals His presence to us. When the LORD speaks into our struggles, those moments deserve to be remembered. We are called not to rush past them, but to mark them, because those are often the places where our faith grows the most.
When Jacob returned to Bethel years later with a large family and great flocks (Gen. 35), he surely looked back on that night when he lay his head, single and empty-handed, on a stone for a pillow. Looking back, he saw that hard and lonely place as a turning point in his life.
We grow stronger in our faith when we remember those times and places when God has moved in our lives. Those hard seasons become anchors for our faith, giving us courage for present trials and hope for future ones. God transforms what once felt cold and uncomfortable into a holy marker of His grace.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we thank You for those times when You have met us in our wilderness seasons, revealing Your faithful presence. Help us to remember those places where You have spoken to us and carried us through. Turn our hardships into holy markers of Your grace, and strengthen our faith as we look back on Your faithfulness going forward. In Jesus’ name, amen.