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What Are Your Ebanezers?
OK, you say..”my what?” That is a good question. Ebenezer is a Hebrew word that means “stone of help.” Here is the story from 1 Samuel 7.
When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.
While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”
Why would Samuel set up this stone on the site where God had defeated the Philistines? It was to remember, in the years to come, the blessing of God on that day. It was literally a stone of remembrance so that they didn’t forget the Lord’s goodness to them.
How easily we forget what God has done in our lives. I have in my home office several pictures of me in an ICU bed that I occupied for thirty days years ago hovering between life and death. I was surrounded by 15 machines that were connected to my body including the machine that breathed for me. But God intervened even after the doctors had told the family on several occasions I would soon die. Those pictures are a reminder of God’s goodness to me. They are my stone of remembrance. It is also why I journal. I want to be reminded in the years to come of God’s work in my life.
Always remember to remember the Goodness of God in your life. That past goodness is the encouragement we need in today's challenges. They remind us of the power and blessings of God. Find ways in your life to remember. Find your own way to find the Ebenezer’s that will remind you of God’s grace and intervention in your life.
Father, I thank you for your faithfulness to me and the many times you have intervened in my life. Help me to remember to remember your goodness and let those remembrances fuel my faith today. Amen.
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By TJ AddingtonOK, you say..”my what?” That is a good question. Ebenezer is a Hebrew word that means “stone of help.” Here is the story from 1 Samuel 7.
When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.
While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”
Why would Samuel set up this stone on the site where God had defeated the Philistines? It was to remember, in the years to come, the blessing of God on that day. It was literally a stone of remembrance so that they didn’t forget the Lord’s goodness to them.
How easily we forget what God has done in our lives. I have in my home office several pictures of me in an ICU bed that I occupied for thirty days years ago hovering between life and death. I was surrounded by 15 machines that were connected to my body including the machine that breathed for me. But God intervened even after the doctors had told the family on several occasions I would soon die. Those pictures are a reminder of God’s goodness to me. They are my stone of remembrance. It is also why I journal. I want to be reminded in the years to come of God’s work in my life.
Always remember to remember the Goodness of God in your life. That past goodness is the encouragement we need in today's challenges. They remind us of the power and blessings of God. Find ways in your life to remember. Find your own way to find the Ebenezer’s that will remind you of God’s grace and intervention in your life.
Father, I thank you for your faithfulness to me and the many times you have intervened in my life. Help me to remember to remember your goodness and let those remembrances fuel my faith today. Amen.