阅读经文 

雅各到达伯特利的时候，他是个疲惫的年轻人。虽说他从父亲那里继承了立约的祝福：神必与他同在，使他的名为大，万国也因他而得福。（参创 12:1-3；28:3-4）但那天晚上入睡前，他孤身一人，毫无名誉——几乎不能祝福任何人，更不用说全地的人了。

然而那天晚上，雅各在梦中惊奇地遇见了神，神为他预备的远超过他所理解的。经文告诉我们，这发生在“一个地方”，所以这不是想像或梦中的地方。在地球上这个普通的地方，雅各看见一个从地上到天上的梯子，一条通向神的通道。神向雅各保证，祂所有立约的应许都会实现。

神是否在一个普通的，意想不到的地方遇见过你？有时我们也像雅各一样，以为我们需要拼命工作，感觉自己更圣洁，或冲进天堂去抓住神的应许。我们会像雅各一样，发现自己的努力只会带来破碎和孤独。

但神提醒我们，我们无需建造去天堂的梯子。在耶稣里，祂已经为破碎的人搭建了一条路回转向祂。（参约 1:51）今天，你愿意让神以恩典使你惊奇吗？

When Jacob arrives at Bethel, he is a broken young man. Supposedly he has inherited the covenant blessings from his father: the promise that God will be with him, give him a great name, and make him a blessing to all nations (see Genesis 12:1-3; 28:3-4). But as he goes to sleep that night, he is alone and discredited—hardly a candidate to bless anyone, much less all peoples on earth.

But that night, in his dreams, Jacob catches a surprising glimpse of the God who has far more in store for him than he has ever understood. The text points out that this occurred in "a certain place," so this was not some imaginary or dreamed-up location. And here, in this ordinary place on the earth, Jacob sees a stairway reaching from earth to heaven, an open passageway to God. And God assures Jacob that all of his covenant promises will be fulfilled.

Has God ever met you in an ordinary, unexpected place? Sometimes we, like Jacob, imagine that we need to work harder, feel more holy, or storm heaven to seize God's promises. And, like Jacob, we find that our efforts leave us broken and alone.

But God reminds us that we don't need to build a stairway to get to heaven. In Jesus, he has constructed a way for broken people to return to him (see John 1:51). Will you let God surprise you with his grace today?