With Certainty and Confidence

But God has surely listened
and heard my voice in prayer.

~Psalm 66:19

I mentioned in my video Monday that while I was interested in studying the meaning of the words "listened" and "heard" in Psalm 66:19, the part of the verse which really beckoned my spirit was the confidence expressed in the phrase "But God...surely". And since one of my greatest desires is to listen and respond obediently to the Holy Spirit, I am choosing for our study this week to focus on that phrase. It comes from the Hebrew word aken and is the same word used in verse 16 of this passage from Genesis. So, let's take a look.

10 Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. 12 He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. 14 Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. 22 This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

~Genesis 28:10-22

I suppose a bit of background to help set the context of this passage would be helpful.
Just before Jacob has this dream/encounter with God, he had followed his mother's advice and scheme to steal his brother's birthright, and their father's blessing. Needless to say, big brother was ticked. (And was making plans to kill Jacob.) Thus, mom's additional advice for Jacob to get out of town - which led to the journey when the above dream took place.
So we have Jacob - conned by his mother into being deceitful, angering his brother to the point of homicide, running for his life. Not exactly the precursers I would anticipate which would lead to the blessing of God. But then - God didn't ask for my opinion, did He!? Anyway, the dream happens and everything changes for Jacob.
What does God promise Jacob in verses 13 and 14?
Do His words sound at all familiar to you?
They should. Look at Genesis 12, 15, 17, and 26. God had been saying essentially the same thing to Abraham and Isaac for years!
With what additional promises does God follow up in verse 15?
What is Jacob's response in verse 16?
The word "surely" here is the same word used in Psalm 66:19 and is an adverb used with strong assertive force. In other words, the speaker who uses this word is confident of the thing about which they are speaking. So, of what does Jacob express certainty?
What vow does he make in verses 20-21?
OK, now based upon what you know about biblical history and God's covenent with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - did God keep the promises He made to Jacob in his dream?
Was Jacob right to express confidence in God, and to trust Him to keep His promises?
Thinking of Psalm 66:19, do you think the psalmist was reasonable in the confidence he expressed?
And what about you, my friend?
Do you have certainty that you can trust God?
Do  you believe He is who He says He is? And that He will do what He says He will do?
If you are struggling to find that kind of confidence today, may I encourage you to re-read the Genesis passages above? And this one from Hebrews?
Then spend time asking God to strengthen your faith as you seek to believe Him.
He is trustworthy, friend. And I am sure He will do it!