The first fireflies of summer always catch me by surprise. Take the other night,  for instance.  I was out walking the dog around dusk when I saw it, just a greenish yellow glimmer out of the corner of my eye. 

Wait, I thought. Was that really a firefly or just light reflecting off of something in a yard? I stopped, stared and waited.

Af first, there was nothing. Then, the glow flickered to life, a tiny lantern flitting around the bushes. There he was, the first lightning bug of the season! Summer was here at last!

There’s something magical about a lawn full of fireflies. Maybe it’s a reminder of the wonder of childhood or simply the beauty of God’s creation that takes our breath away if only we will stop long enough to notice.

Or maybe there’s something else—a reminder that there’s more to this life than what is always visible. After all, the firefly was already present even before he fired up his blinker. I just didn’t see him.

It reminds me of a story about a sketchy guy from the Bible named Jacob. This man had been a con artist and a cheat since the day he was born, but God is the God of second chances (and third and fourth and so on) and was about to do something amazing in Jacob’s life.

Long story short, Jacob was on the run in the wilderness and settled down one evening on what he thought was just an ordinary patch of dirt. That night, however, he had a wild dream where he saw angels going up and down a stairway to heaven several centuries before Led Zeppelin started singing about it.

God was at the top of the heavenly stairs and revealed several jaw-dropping promises He had for Jacob’s family. 

Not only would his descendants inherit the land where Jacob was sleeping and become as widespread as the dust of the earth, but somehow the whole world would be blessed through them. Little did he know that was because Jesus Himself would some day come from this family line.  

When Jacob woke up, he was totally freaked out. He realized that what he had thought was an ordinary campsite was actually holy ground, crackling with the presence of God. The Bible says, “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it’” (Genesis 28:16).

That night, the light blinked on for Jacob. He knew he was not alone. Not only was God present but active, moving in Jacob’s life in a way he could have never imagined. 

The same God is still present and working in our lives today. Like a stealthy firefly He doesn’t always reveal Himself immediately, but when we finally catch a glimpse of His light, it takes our breath away. 

Or at least it can if we take time to stop and pay attention. 

Just think, your ordinary home, school, car, workplace, grocery store or whatever, may not be so ordinary after all.  Surely God is in THAT place too, just like he was at Jacob’s campsite, and He wants you to draw close to Him today.

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