Joni And Friends Daily Devotional 1 July 2024, Monday Message
TOPIC: Raise a Memorial!
“Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far has the LORD helped us.’” 1 Samuel 7:12
TODAY’S MESSAGE
When the Israelites defeated the Philistines, the prophet Samuel raised a memorial to commemorate the victory. He named it Ebenezer, which means “stone of help.” It was to remind everyone, including Samuel, that God was their help.
From the beginning, God has sealed special events with some kind of physical memorial. He gave Noah a rainbow. He instituted the Passover feast as a reminder of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. When he gave the Law to Moses, he wrote it on two tablets so his people could see and remember. The tabernacle, the ark itself, and the cloud that hovered over it were visible reminders of God’s ever-present help. In the New Testament the Lord Jesus declared that Mary’s gift of perfume, which she poured over him, should be a memorial. What are the memorials in your life, the tangible reminders God has given you of his ever-present help?
My wheelchair is my Ebenezer. I’ve raised it up as a memorial to commemorate God’s grace in my life. It reminds me (and everyone who sees me smile in it) that God is my help.
Look for the memorials, the stones of remembrances, in your life. Whatever they are—perhaps a ring, a family Bible, a pair of crutches, a pebble you picked up during a journey—they can be anchors to your soul. When pain becomes severe or sorrow crushing, you can remind yourself of that memorial set in place during a time of greater strength, and you can pray, “Oh, God, keep me faithful to that.” Then rest your heart on the faithfulness of the One who has given you help in the past, that One who helped you raise the stone of remembrance in the first place.
PRAY: God, your understanding of us is so great. You know that we need visible reminders of your faithfulness. Show me what reminders I can establish in my life that will stand in the face of all the future might bring.
Joni Eareckson Tada is an American evangelical Christian author, radio host, artist, and founder of Joni and Friends, an organization “accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community”