“He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” -Genesis 28:12
Jacob had a dream after he ran away from home. In the dream, a stairway—or ladder—connected heaven and earth. The stairway was “resting” on earth, which I think means it’s always there. But this was the only time Jacob saw it—in his dream.
The dream was also full of promises. God promised that Jacob’s descendants would be as many as the sand of the seashore. Which is a lot, and probably more metaphoric than literal. Still, Jacob didn’t live to see that. He had a dozen sons, but that’s far from seashore status.
The point is, the dream was only partially realized in Jacob’s lifetime on earth. And, as far as we know, he didn’t run stairs with angelic athletes, either.
There’s a machine at the gym called “Jacob’s Ladder.” But it doesn’t stretch to heaven. (Hell, maybe.) I think they call it Jacob’s Ladder because you just keep climbing. You climb and climb and the wooden ladder bars keep rotating through… endlessly… until you get off the ladder machine.
The last time I was climbing on Jacob’s Ladder I thought about this passage from Genesis—Jacob’s dream. I wonder what it was like to have such a moment—such a definitive signal from God and hope for the future—but then not see it again. Jacob had other profound experiences, but I wonder how often he looked toward heaven, begging for a sign… desperate for a ladder that mattered. I wonder if he got frustrated knowing there’s more out there while he was limited in his current reality.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I’m on Jacob’s Ladder—climbing, sweating, and breathing hard… but going nowhere. When I feel that way, I’m learning not to be discouraged. Even though the machine is cycling wooden ladder bars around and around and it feels like an exercise in futility, good things are still happening—below the surface.
I may not be moving very far, but my heart is getting healthier. My metabolism is speeding up. My muscles are strengthening. I’m building discipline and endurance. There are no trophies or accolades for climbing Jacob’s Ladder, but that doesn’t mean good things aren’t happening all the time.
Heaven is always touching earth. Angels are continually on the move. Hope is still rising. The revolution is still on.
And YOU are still making progress. Keep climbing.