by Tim Groves

After Jacob awoke from his dream, he was humbled by the experience and realized that God had offered him something very special. Now Jacob had to respond.

Up to this point, Jacob did not truly follow God. His most prominent character trait was trickery and deceit. There is very little evidence that He had a deep relationship with God prior to this moment.

It seems that Jacob now started to realize that he had a decision to make. He could develop the relationship with God that his father and grandfather had—or he could keep living his way.

Though Jacob did not fully commit to a relationship with God at this point, He did come closer, stating that God would be his personal God if he made it back to his homeland safely.

When we commit to a relationship with God, we must act on His calling without an if. We can’t make our response to God’s call dependent on Him doing something physical to help us. Instead, we must act based on faith (Ephesians 2:8-9; Colossians 2:12; James 2:22).

To learn how to appropriately respond to God’s calling, read our article “Called and Chosen.”

Tomorrow on the Daily Bible Verse Blog: “Jacob Honors God.”