Surely the Lord Is in This Place

“Surely the Lord is in this place—and I was not aware of it.”

—Genesis 28:16

Most of us don’t struggle to believe God exists.

We struggle to notice Him.

We expect God to arrive in clear moments—answered prayers, quiet sanctuaries, well-formed words. We look for Him in places that feel intentional and holy.

And when life feels ordinary, or messy, or repetitive, we assume He must be elsewhere.

But Jacob didn’t encounter God in a temple.

He wasn’t prepared. He wasn’t looking.

He was tired, alone, and sleeping on a stone.

And still—God was there.

That verse has always felt less like a declaration and more like a realization.

Surely the Lord is in this place… and I didn’t even know it.

How often is that true for us?

God is present in the routine we rush through.

In conversations we almost miss.

In the quiet weight of days that don’t feel spiritually significant.

We don’t lack God’s presence—we lack awareness.

There’s something freeing about that. Because it means we don’t have to manufacture sacred moments. We don’t have to chase a feeling or wait for life to slow down.

God is already woven into the ordinary.

Into folded laundry and long pauses.

Into unanswered questions and steady breath.

Into the in-between moments we rarely name.

Faith, then, becomes less about finding God and more about learning to see Him.

Not louder.

Not grander.

Just closer.

And maybe that’s what it means to live a God-filled life—not one filled with constant clarity or spiritual highs, but one where we slowly learn to whisper:

Surely the Lord is in this place.

Even here.

Until next time