God Sees It All [Genesis 31]

 ²Jacob saw the attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly.³Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you." ⁴So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field,

 ⁵and said to them, "I see your father's attitude, that it is not friendly toward me as formerly, but the God of my father has been with me.

⁹"Thus God has taken away your father's livestock and given them to me. ¹⁰"And it came about at the time when the flock were mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, and mottled. ¹¹"Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob,' and I said, 'Here I am.'

 ¹²"He said, 'Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. ¹³'I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.'"

For twenty years, life just happened for Jacob.  He worked hard to provide for his ever growing family.  He dealt with a father in law that mistreated him. "These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night." (v. 41-42)  God told him it was time to go back to the land of his birth. Rachel and Leah even agreed.  It was as if he woke up to the truth that God had been with him the whole time.  God had watched it all and had stayed with him. Knowing that gave him courage to take the next step.

We praise You, Father, that You are a God who is always present.  Nothing escapes Your attention.  Even when we are caught up in the mundane routines of life, God, Your hand is there using life to direct us. May we wake up to this truth today and have courage to take the next step You are calling us to take.