Unfortunately, one of the things I am best at is getting lost.

Ever since I was a child, I’ve found myself in unfamiliar places, alone amidst people I didn’t know. Once at a fair, I lost my family. “Oh well,” I thought. “They’ll figure out where I am at some point.” Without an ounce of panic I went on to milk a cow and win third place in a contest.

Regardless of how confused we are, we are never truly lost. Even when we don’t know where a circumstance is taking us, God does. He knows where we are in life, where we should be and how to get us back on track.

In this passage, Jacob is alone, a day’s travel from home, on a 400 mile trek into the unknown. He must have been scared, because in his sleep God comes with encouragement.

“I am with you on this journey. Whatever wild encounters you have, I will be your help.”

God does help. Jacob finds his uncle. He falls in love. Though he is deceived into marrying two women, from them come the twelve tribes of Israel. God multiplies his family, his livestock, and mends his relationship with his brother.

Ultimately, Jacob’s troubles turn into blessings for the world.

With God as our traveling companion, we will never lose our way.