God is in your hard place
*To hear the audio version of this devotion, CLICK HERE
Have you ever felt stuck between a rock and a hard place in your life and didn’t know what to do? In these moments, Christ the Rock of our salvation is there in the midst of it all. This powerful word of encouragement is for the individual going through some personal challenges, dealing with uncertainties, facing difficulties, and being confronted by obstacles. Through this message, the Lord is confirming His promises and assuring you that all the blessings, favor, and breakthroughs He has promised to release will manifest. He is infiltrating and ministering to you in your hard place!
An Unexpected Divine Encounter
You know what happened yesterday? I was just minding my business in the studio when out of the blue, God was like, "Hey, pause everything and call your mom!" So that's what I did. We started off with some small talk and then bam! It turned into this amazing divine encounter.
Mom asked me to pray for her which is a fairly routine request. Of course, I was happy to intercede on her behalf, but what I didn’t expect was for the Holy Spirit to show up so powerfully during chat session turned prayer call.
My God!
He released a powerful prophetic word through me for my mother that turned out to be just what she needed. By the end of it, we were both ugly-crying, rejoicing, speaking in tongues, and feeling overwhelmed with gratitude that God had crashed our ordinary convo and turned it into an extraordinary visitation with Him.
That’s just like God, isn’t it?
Oh, and get this— my mom was in her closet when all of this went down. Her closet is not just where she stashes her clothes, but it’s also her go-to spot for having one-on-one time with God. When I called her, she said she had gone into her prayer closet and knew she needed to answer the phone. I thought it was fascinating to see God’s sovereignty in that she was already in the place God wanted her to be for an encounter with Him—in her prayer closet. I love how her storage space doubles as a prayer closet and a sanctuary where she spends time with Jesus.
By the time we hung up, I was still wiping away tears. Before collecting myself and getting back to the work at hand, I had to take a few more moments to give praise to God for showing up during a phone call, while my mom was just chilling in her closet. He definitely proved yesterday that He can meet us wherever we are. No need for fancy-schmancy churches or anything!
And then, to put an exclamation point on the point that He was proving, later that day, I'm driving around when suddenly—boom! Yet another visitation from the Lord! Before I knew it, there I was in my car having a full-on prayer party with Jesus. Now, if you’re signed up for my ministry newsletter, you already know from the message I shared yesterday, if you read it, that the Lord and I had good old time in the car.
GOD INVADES THE MUNDANE PLACES
Friend, God is with us and will invade the mundane places in our lives. He'll speak to us whenever, wherever. I just love the Lord and how He always reminds us that He's everywhere, don’t you love that?
I woke up early this morning with a Scripture on my heart—one I know God put there—from Genesis 28:10-22. This biblical passage is a reminder of God’s omnipresence and His ability to turn any natural occurrence into a supernatural encounter.
“God is turning your ordinary circumstances into an extraordinary divine encounter with Him. He is showing up to pronounce blessings over you!”
Here we find Jacob, the son of Isaac, on a journey to his Uncle Laban's house to escape the wrath of his brother Esau and to find a wife among his mother's relatives. As he embarked on this journey, Jacob wasn’t doing the best. He was all alone and weighed down by the consequences of his own actions. He had deceptively stolen his twin brother Esau’s birthright and blessing (You can read all about it in Genesis 27.) and had deeply damaged the relationship as a result. Esau hated Jacob and wanted to kill him.
Against this chaotic backdrop of family drama, loneliness, and uncertainty about the future, Jacob experienced an unexpected divine encounter like no other. But the place where this supernatural visitation took place didn’t seem like the ideal location. It was a nondescript location outside under the open sky. Scripture says Jacob arrived at this certain place to rest for the night and used a stone as his pillow. Sounds pretty uncomfortable if you ask me. Who would have thought God would show up in a makeshift bed outside in the elements on a rock-pillow?
Well, as Jacob slept, God showed him this magnificent vision—a ladder stretching from Earth to Heaven, with angels ascending and descending upon it and the Lord standing at the top. Many scholars call that ladder “The Stairway to Heaven.” It represented the connection between God and humanity, symbolizing God's desire and ability to communicate directly with His people.
During this remarkable vision, God spoke to Jacob and reaffirmed the promises He had made to Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac. God assured Jacob that he would inherit the land on which he rested, and his descendants would be as numerous as the dust of the earth. The Lord also promised that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him and his offspring. Furthermore, God assured Jacob, whose name would eventually be changed to Israel, of the Lord’s constant presence, protection, and guidance throughout his journey.
At the time, Jacob also vowed that he would honor God by giving back a portion of all that he acquired as an offering of thanks for God keeping His promises to protect and provide for him on his journey.
AWAKENING TO A POWERFUL REVELATION
Now, upon awakening from his divine encounter, Jacob—much like I was yesterday when God visited me twice—was filled with gratitude and awe. He recognized the significance and specialness of this holy revelation and set up a memorial stone as an altar of worship. Right there, Jacob poured oil over the rock that he had been using for a pillow and named the rock Bethel, which in Hebrew means “House of God.”
Later on, we find that God confirms the validity of Jacob’s encounter and renaming of the rock when in Genesis 31:13, God appears to Jacob and says, “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me.”
I love how Jacob, though he neither planned nor expected that encounter with the Lord, recognized it when it happened. If you go back to Genesis 28:16, when he first wakes up from his sleep, Jacob says one of my favorite lines in all of Scripture: “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”
It’s so interesting to me that Jacob had an immediate awareness of God’s presence after awakening, but before he went to sleep, he had no clue that the Lord was even there in this uncomfortable space. The place where he was sleeping on a rock was a hard place. It was a place of discomfort. A place of isolation. A place of the unknown. But God knew where Jacob was and showed up to deliver a powerful prophetic promise to Him.
Somebody receiving this word today is about to have an unexpected visitation from God, too. He is invading the places where your unresolved issues, struggles, and problems exist just so He can demonstrate His power on your behalf. He wants to assure you that He sees where you are. He knows what you’re going through. He also knows where you’re going to and what good plans He has in store. His presence is showing up in your hard place to affirm you and confirm for you that good things are on the way!
GOD’S PRESENCE IS IN THE HARDEST PLACES
When you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, this is where God visits you. It is your Bethel, the House of God. The place where you have cried is the House of God. The place where it is dark and lonely is the House of God. The place where you are plagued by sickness is the House of God. The place where you are grieving a loss is the House of God. The place where you feel the most unsure about the future is the House of God. Surely, the Lord is in this place, and He wants you to know it.
He’s saying now, know that I’m with you. I’m in your place of suffering. Your place of lack. Your place of disappointment. Your place of heartbreak. Your place of mental anguish. The place you least expect Me to be, that’s where I am. Aren’t you glad His power invades the spaces where you pain resides? Oh, how He loves taking up residence in your most painful, vulnerable, lonely, undesirable places.
When you get low, He shows up and reaffirms His promises to you just as He did with Jacob. And that today is my divine mission—to reaffirm His promises to you in your hard place. Though you don’t understand everything that God is doing, He will keep His covenant to you. He promises to bless you. Favor you. Heal you. Deliver you. Fight for you. Protect you. Guide you. Restore you. Increase you. Elevate you. Prosper you. Renew and replenish you. Comfort you. Speak to you. Reveal Himself to you. Again, in your hard place, that’s where He is.
God is ministering to you right now and declaring, “I am Jehovah Shammah, the God who is there.” “I am El Bethel, the God who turns your hard place into the house of God.” “I am El Elyon, the Most High God.” “I am Ehyeh asher Ehyeh, the eternal, all-sufficient God.”
When God said to Moses, “I AM Who I AM” in Exodus 3:14, He called Himself Ehyeh asher Ehyeh, to remind Moses that despite his feelings of insufficiency, God is the all-sufficient one. Whatever you need, He is. Wherever you need Him to be, He is. In fact, He is the One speaking today and telling you that you are never alone. Don’t ever let the enemy convince you that you are. Whatever place you find yourself in, Jehova Shamma, God is there. The same God who promised to bless Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his seed, promises to bless you and me.
So, the next time you find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place, declare the powerful words found in Psalm 18:2 CEV, which is the sweetener I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration, which says, “You are my mighty rock, my fortress, my protector, the rock where I am safe, my shield, my powerful weapon, and my place of shelter.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup, know that Christ, the Rock of your salvation, is there. His love, faithfulness, and commitment to His promises never waver. He remains consistent despite the ebbs and flows and shifting seasons of your life. You can confidently place your trust in Him, even when your journey seems uncertain and hard. No matter what, stand on the promises of God, the One who is causing all things to work together for your good according to Romans 8:28.
Now, let’s pray.
God, thank You that You are Jehovah Shammah, the God who is there through whatever hardship, uncertainty, test, and trial I am facing. Just as you were with Jacob in his hard place, I know that You are with me. I praise You for reaffirming Your promises to me and being a refuge and a very present help in my time of trouble, according to Psalm 46:1. Whenever I feel lost, confused, and troubled during my valley seasons, help me to cling to Your promises, knowing that You are the God who is always faithful and true to Your word, and You never fail to fulfill Your covenant. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
