Standing By The Ladder; The Hand Of Change And Peace 2

Emmanuel Nyabam

May 26

Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran. He came to a certain place and camped for the night since the sun had set. He took one of the stones there, set it under his head and lay down to sleep. And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground and it reached all the way to the sky; angels of God were going up and going down on it. Then God was right before him, saying, "I am God, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I'm giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they'll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I'll stay with you, I'll protect you wherever you go, and I'll bring you back to this very ground. I'll stick with you until I've done everything I promised you." Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, "God is in this place—truly. And I didn't even know it!" He was terrified. He whispered in awe, "Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God's House. This is the Gate of Heaven." Jacob was up first thing in the morning. He took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil over it. He christened the place Bethel (God's House). The name of the town had been Luz until then. Jacob vowed a vow: "If God stands by me and protects me on this journey on which I'm setting out, keeps me in food and clothing, and brings me back in one piece to my father's house, this God will be my God. This stone that I have set up as a memorial pillar will mark this as a place where God lives. And everything you give me, I'll return a tenth to you." * * * Genesis 28:10‭-‬22 MSG

This morning I want to paint on the canvas of hearts rhe picture I saw yesterday as it captured my soul. The rich bloom of seeing a Ladder leading up to heaven and God himself at the foot of same ready to talk to the one originally called the supplanted. He was so cunning that God trusted him with a wisdom to make a set of sheep and goats produce in a particular way and even made other sterile. But that's not what I'm up to paint. We stand at a precipes today and was it Macbeth or one of those ol Shakespearian dramas that quoted to be or not to be is the question... The canvas I want to draw on is the tapestry of hearts that succeed. Would you journey with me a bit.

We need to paint a picture of what success looks like so that the end goal becomes real to those around us—so real that they can almost reach out and taste it. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision the people perish." That's the risk we run if we can't exemplify the very same values we preach. That is the precipe our nation stands on today. What is the vision? Is the people perishing because of a lack of vision? As I glean through the pages of my well worn Holy Writ I realized I was frightened for nothing. You see life tends to frighten people, for it xan be pretty ferocious sometimes, pretty mean too I dare say. It shakes its spear at people. It rattles its saber . It blows its icy breath on them and they are of course frightened. That's where my nation is. We have tasted perhaps the worst type of leadership anyone can ask for and with a new leader whose jaded life is an enigma fought in illegality. Yes folk are frightened, yes the uncertainty is at a heighten state almost a plato but God's ways are not ours.

Why would God pick the one who was always scheming? In short his scheming ways he passed on to his sons that they sold their own blood as a scheme and called same dead. But see eh! It is in that state of evil that God shows up and establishes light. No wonder the adage there is light at the end of the tunnel. The challenge is right now we are so deep in the tunnel we can't see that light. But you see while fear is pervasive, a Christian, if he or she really is a Christian shouldn't ever be frightened of anything. So I speak of abnormal fear, not of normal caution. As a Child of God I have fears but my most potent fear is the fear of God. Again I ask, what is the vision?

As an educator the philosophy of our education opens with the vision statement it should be egalitarian. Small but mighty word that one yeah! Hear the meaning of this word, asserting, resulting from, or characterized by belief in the equality of all people, especially in political, economic, or social life. I ask is that the state of my nation? Where is equity or fair play that an executive governor is so insensitive to the heart beat of his people, selfishly chasing their desire and zest for wealth and power. In fact from definition this word captures the desire of feminism oh! Final time what is our vision?

You see when vision is recognised it gives strength to attain success. It was the vision that would drive and keep Jacob, it was the vision that drove Joseph and kept him. It was vision that kept Moses and led him,and later David would write a plethora of poems inspired by the vision that took hold of him in the wilderness and made him king. I feel we have lost the real vision for this nation and have allowed bigots and frauds to use what connects to further divide us. The man Sani Abacha told us any crisis that lingers know that the hand of those in government is deeply involved. It is the only explanation of the callous behavior of the man heading us and heading out in a few days.

May we rise to what Psalmist describes in one version as have pity, God most high! The message has a ring to it that captures my thoughts as one leader I served under would say, intoto...Take my side, God—I'm getting kicked around, stomped on every day. Not a day goes by but somebody beats me up; They make it their duty to beat me up. When I get really afraid I come to you in trust. I'm proud to praise God; fearless now, I trust in God. What can mere mortals do? Psalms 56:1‭-‬4 MSG. Take my side is what the populace is saying and it depends on which side of this labyrinth of division you're on but this past election brought up a newness and desire for that egalitarian side of this nation that is completely absent even in our educational system and polity. I will end by taking us back to the picture of God at the bottom of that ladder eventually the temple was built where Jacob encountered God. Expect an encounter and let's pray for our nation as tomorrow is children day. Let us give our children hope of an egalitarian life buoyed on the masters call as every other vision can fail save that. Shalom

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