Here I Raise My Ebenezer
I am glad my Mom didn’t call me Ebenezer!
Remember the story? The Philistines had stolen the Ark of the Covenant. It had proved a fatal error. God sent severe judgement on them. Samuel, the prophet, took a group of men to retrieve it. It was not an easy task. There were enemies on every side. Fear and despair were rampant among the people. So, Samuel paused in the journey, collected some rocks and built a memorial, an altar of remembrance. He called it “Ebenezer” - meaning ‘Up to this point the Lord has helped us.’ - 1 Samuel 7
I can see the people of Israel gathered around, curious to see what Samuel was doing. As he built, he began to reminisce – re-telling the stories of God’s faithfulness in the past. In so doing, he was building confidence to step into the unknown future.
We are never able to recreate the past. It is gone forever. Every day before us is a new adventure, a road not yet traveled. The circumstances of the present may cause us to despair and fear. But there is a lesson to learn here from Samuel.
It is true that we cannot drive our car ahead while looking in the rear-view mirror. It is equally true that the chronicles of our past have extreme value to influence our future.
As a younger person, I used to travel great distances, stopping only for absolute essentials. I would usually leave home in the dead of night pushing relentlessly toward my destination. I would arrive exhausted, not having experienced any of the delights the journey could have provided. Now, rest stops are my best friends. The slower pace of the journey gives me time to look around and collect stones for my personal “Ebenezers.”
While we cannot drive ahead by looking behind, we need to have frequent stops, times of rest and reflection where we remember how exceptional the journey has been thus far, and how faithful our Guide has proven Himself to be.
Where we have been, and what have we seen, creates a solid foundation of confidence for where we have yet to go and what we have yet to do. We need to raise ‘Ebenezers!’ We need a string of memorials to mark the ‘But God’ places in our life and family.
Here are 4 suggestions to help with this important and valuable exercise:
Hurry up and slow down – It is time for us to begin to live at a reasonable pace. If COVID-19 has taught us anything it should be that the only thing ‘certain’ is ‘uncertainty.’ The majority of our life and the greatest percent of our energy can easily be spent in pursuits that can be gone tomorrow.
Pushing on from one frantic endeavour to another is not God’s intention for us. The Old Testament frequently tells us to stop and ‘consider.’ Take time, reflect, reframe, rejoice, renew ourselves by recalling the specifics of the faithfulness of God in our life!
If this pandemic can get us to decelerate, it has served a valuable purpose.
Take Advantage of Rest Stops – specific, periodic self-appointed breaks where you can organize your mental photos of life and mesh them with a narrative of God’s goodness.
This is a lesson I am still learning. I have collected memorabilia from many places in the world where I have traveled. Unfortunately, I often have not taken the ‘rest stop’ time necessary each time to catalogue them. My memory fails me with the passage of time. I sadly look at pieces of my collection which have lost their sentimental value because I can no longer associate them with the particular place or event of meaning.
The same holds true for God places and events. It serves us well to cultivate the habit of maintaining a record of His amazing interventions in our life.
Record answers to Prayer. I have discovered that I am quick on the uptake for requests but often less than diligent in my acknowledgement and recollection of God’s answers. God always answers prayer. Even when He says ‘No’ or ‘Wait,’ we need to record it. Inevitably, down the road, we will have a clearer picture of the ‘whys’ and the ‘why nots’ of His answers.
I admit that I need to practice this discipline more in my life. When I deliberately begin to backtrack on prayers I have prayed and follow them through to their conclusion, I am amazed at the tracing of God’s omniscient hand it all of them.
Create tangible interfaces that link you to specific ‘God events.’
This is a proven technique for memory enhancement in any area of life.
I recently created a water feature in my back yard. Around it I have a small rock garden. But the rocks are special. There is one from my grandpa’s homestead, one from my boyhood home, one from my cousin’s farm etc. Each of these stones trigger a series of memories every time I am in my yard and physically see them.
It can be the same with God events in our life. This is what Samuel was doing.
The first trip I made to Rwanda with a Mission’s Team was to help erect the tent that the Komants would use for their first Church. I had a light coloured “Men’s Fellowship” hat that I wore. The African soil is vermillion red and stains easily. As I worked in the oppressive heat, sweating underneath the folds of a slowly rising tent, my hat was stained beyond recovery. That day I realized I was part of history, part of the spiritual re-building of a devastated Nation. When I returned home, I hung the hat over my desk. I wanted to be reminded every time I saw it, that the Rwanda Mission was a modern miracle in which I had a part.
To this point the Lord has helped us. Do you have Ebenezers? Our God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Our future and forever are secure and His faithfulness in our past proves it.
“I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance.”
2 Peter 3:1
Al is an experienced pastor and counselor who works out of our ABNWT District Resource Centre in Edmonton as the Pastoral Care Coordinator. A pastor to the pastors, Al is a friend, mentor, and confidante to all.