Joshua 4:4-7 "So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
I have found over the years that as humans, we are a fickle people. Like the Israelites, we thank God for His faithfulness one minute and then turn around a few days later and fuss, doubt, and complain. It is so important for us to have spiritual markers in our lives (shadow boxes, physical momentos, memorials etc.) to remind us of the faithfulness of God. For years now my husband and I have had a huge basket that we call our Blessings Basket where we put special reminders, treasured cards, letters and momentos of all that God has done for us over the years. It's home is in our living room out in the open not only as a reminder for us but for our children and grandchildren as well. It helps us to stay focused on the Lord and always conceptualize His goodness.
Chapters 3 and 4 in the book of Joshua tell us about how once again God parted the waters, this time in the Jordan River, to allow the Israelites to cross over into the Promised Land on dry ground. He had promised to do amazing things among them if they set themselves apart for Him so can you imagine their astonishment when the flow of water was cut off. I would have had my cell phone out taking pictures and leaping for joy at that miraculous sight. They had heard about God parting the Red Sea but they were actually experiencing it for themselves first hand!
Joshua wanted to make sure that the people did not forget the faithfulness of their God so he commanded them to take up stones from the dry river bed of the Jordan river, one for every tribe, and place them before the ark of the covenant as a memorial to the people of Israel. This was to be a constant reminder to them that their God worked on their behalf and was faithful to His promises. It also represented the fact that they could trust the Lord their God. He had helped them through tumultuous times in the past but little did they know that the future held even greater challenges and they would need this remembrance in the future. This memorial would also serve as a tool that they could use to teach their children about the great things God had done.
Memorials are important because they serve as points of faith that we can look back on to trust God for greater and greater works in the future. Have you established any spiritual markers? If not, I challenge you to take the time to create some. They will not only help to remind you but they will prove to be wonderful conversation starters and a unique avenue for you to share your faith.
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Personalize this prayer.
Dear Lord,
You are powerful and mighty. You are faithful and true. You are understanding and compassionate. I stand amazed at Your goodness and am enamored by the very idea that You truly do care about every little aspect of my life. I've come to trust You wholeheartedly and should You desire to use me to express all that You mean to me, I'm available. There is no better way for me to thank You than to share with others about all that You have done in my life. No one can argue with my experience. I'm ready and willing to tell of Your love and the sacrifice that You have made for all of us in order that we can live with You forever. Oh what a day that will be!
In Jesus Name,
Amen
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