Stones of Remembrance

Every Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve our family has a tradition of remembering events from the past year and giving God thanks. Sometimes it was for keeping us through tragedy, a trial, or a health scare. Sometimes it was for His blessings through the birth of a healthy baby, a new job, or in our family, US Citizenship.

In the book of Joshua, the Bible talks about how important it is to remember what God has done. For years, God had been promising to give His people, the Israelites, their very own country, a place called the promised land. After God rescues them from slavery in Egypt, they come upon an obstacle... the Jordan river. God shows his commitment to keep His promise by stopping the water of a large deep river so the people could cross over to their new home.

Wow, what a big day! The Israelites were on their way to a brand new home thanks to God’s amazing power, and they didn’t even have to get wet or risk their lives going there. Now we all know how forgetful we are right? God knows that too and He did not want His people to forget the awesome things He had done because of His great love for them. So here is what He told them to do:

Joshua 4:4-7 (NLT)

"So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel.5 He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.6 We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’7 Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

When was the last time you spent time with your family remembering what God has done for you? The last time you talked to your children about the power of God in your life through the years? Take a moment and make a list of your family's events... small, large, happy, sad... look at all the things that happened this past year. For which of those moments do you believe God was with you? One, two, maybe four? ALL! Completely all of them. God was with you every single day. Can you see it? Remembering all the times that God has been with you gives you the courage to face the coming year and years yet to come. The same God who was with you this past year, promises to be with you now no matter what may come.