Blessings of marking
the way…
When Israel was taken
into captivity, the Prophet Jeremiah said, “Set up road markers for yourself;
make yourself guideposts; consider well the highway, the road by which you
went. Return, O virgin Israel, return to these your cities.” (Jeremiah 31:21
ESV)
The point of this was
that Israel might find their way back. The prophet knew their exile would be 3
½ generations long – 70 years! They would forget their way in the time of the
exile.
Sometimes, it doesn’t
take 70 years. Sometimes, 70 minutes is long enough for us to forget our way.
Sometimes, 70 seconds is all it takes for us to lose our way. Whether moments,
minutes or months, we need to get back to God.
Waymarkers are a
blessing in that regard. When we establish markers along our spiritual journey,
they always help us find our way when we are confused or wandering.
For example, in our
local church, whenever we baptize someone, we give them a candle. The other
day, I walked in my daughter’s room and there, prominently on a shelf, sat her
candle.
Israel of old would
set up altars of sacrifice and worship. They’d also set up stones of
remembrance; each of these stones was called an “ebenezer”, which means “stone
of remembrance.”
We get a beloved hymn
from one such ebenezer raising as recorded in 1 Samuel 7: “As Samuel was
offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But
the LORD thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and
threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. And the men of
Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far
as below Beth-car. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and
Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, ‘Till now the LORD has helped
us.’” (1 Samuel 7:10-12 ESV) Thus the hymn-writer, Robert Robinson, wrote “Here
I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by Thine help I’ve come, and I hope, by Thy good
pleasure, safely to arrive at home.” And, Amen, I say!
Besides showing us our
way back when we are wandering, waymarkers serve three other wonderful
purposes:
1. They make us
remember what God has done.
2. They cause us to
express gratitude.
3. They give a path to
those who come after.
We do well to
remember. We do well to mark what God has done. America, for example, has so
divorced herself from the life of faith that our nation often sets up
waymakers, such as memorials, but she fails to give God the glory or the
credit, so the remembrances don’t encourage us to come back to God or to thank
God. Such things mark our history as secular and cause us to be thankful for
the (supposed) strength of man.
Be that as it may,
what of your life? What are your stones of remembrance? What do you celebrate?
How do you remember?
You do well to
remember! You had better remember!
Sit down today and
recount what God has done in your life. Remember!
Perhaps you are away
from the Lord, or not where you want to be with Him. Return again to the Lord!
Remember!
Learn to tell your
story and mark your way. Learn to remember God’s goodness to you. Keep it fresh
in your mind and in your heart. For example, I’ve been clean, dry and sober for
8,320 days today. To that I say, “Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by God’s
help I’m come.” When I remember that, I remember that’s how many days I’ve been
living as a disciple of Jesus. I was called into vocational ministry on January
4, 2000. I don’t forget that. I remember the day I started at Berry’s Grove,
Youth For Christ and East Rock. I remember the exact day we switched from YFC
to MLM. I remember my kids’ birthdays and the days they were born. I remember
my wedding day. I remember a day in September 2003 when I understood the Holy
Spirit in a fresh way. I remember the day both my girls surrendered to Jesus
and I remember baptizing them (in the coldest water ever!). I remember so many
days where God graciously supplied our needs at My Life Matters. On and on and
on…
I’m marking my way! I
remember!
Fact is, I'm writing
this today and here again is another Ebenezer. Hither by God's help I'm come.
Amen.
