Try to Remember
1 Samuel 7:12 NIV
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."
In Old Testament times, the leaders of Israel always built memorials to what God had done for them. In this particular instance, the leader was Samuel, and the memorial was a stone. Samuel took the stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen. And, like other leaders before and after him, he named the stone. He called this one Ebenezer ("stone of help") and said, "Thus far has the Lord helped us." As with any memorial, Samuel wanted to set up a visual reminder of God's presence and a help. something that would be there as a permanent reminder of how God had helped the people of Israel over and over again. He was saying to the people, "Try to remember. Don't forget what God has done. You will need to remember in the future when times get tough. And they will."
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For us, the Bible is a kind of "stone of help" - a permanent memorial to what God has done for His people since the day of Adam. Throughout its pages we can see over and over again the message of God's love and His power and His mercy and His judgment. By causing people like Moses and David and Paul and all the others to write down His Word, He was setting up a memorial for you and me... a special message that we can read when we need to remember. Through its pages, He is saying to you and me, "Try to remember. Don't forget what I have done. You will need to remember in the future when times get tough. And they will."
You and I suffer many trials, and we enjoy many victories. Throughout them all, the Lord is with us, helping us, guiding us, loving us, chastising us, making us grow stronger in our faith and in our walk with Him. Each trial and each victory is like a memorial stone. We start out with small trials and move on to greater and greater challenges to our faith. If we treat each one as a memorial stone - something we can look at and try to remember - the next, larger trial becomes easier to handle and the victory is even sweeter. And if we share with others what God has done for us, we can help them see what a "stone of help" each one is for them.
If you're going through a tough time right now, stop for a moment and reflect on what God has done for you in the past. Try to remember the faith He built in you yesterday, and let it strengthen you today. You'll find each new trial easier to face if you'll only try to remember.
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