Ebenezer means “stone of help.” An ebenezer is a physical marker, an erected stone to commemorate something important that happened in the Bible. To commemorate a promise that the Lord has made to his people, to commemorate a God victory, to commemorate a defeat for the glory of God and for the benefit of his people. Here’s the story (1 Samuel 7) for context. There are many instances in the Bible where people erected physical reminders of an occurrence that was of God. Like the time when Jacob fell asleep and had a dream (Genesis 28:10-22). After he awoke in verses 18 and 19: 18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel. This was not an ordinary dream. This dream was about a promise that God made to Jacob about his future.
I personally keep a list of times when God showed up to remind myself of His faithfulness. You’ll know that He showed up because it’s a time when nothing else can explain why it happened. Like maybe why you didn’t wreck when your eyes were closed while you were speeding down the highway at the helm of your motorcycle. Or that moment when as you pulled into your driveway a giant tree fell behind you and not on you. This happened to me.
Keeping a list of times when God showed up builds our faith. It’s good to look at the list when we don’t feel that He’s with us. When we feel abandoned or afraid. I call my list Times When God Showed Up. I’m sure you will be more creative.
The reason I keep a list is that God doesn’t ever abandon us. He is always with us. Isaiah 41:10 says, Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. But there will be times in our lives when we don’t perceive his presence. There are many reasons for this. That’s why it helps us to remember that even though we don’t feel or see Him, He is still there!
Hebrews 11:1
Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
It’s hard for us humans to think that God wants to be a part of our everyday lives; not just for the big things like cancer, a promotion or the death of a loved one.
As a parent, I can’t imagine being involved in the every day minute of my kids’ lives. Once they were potty trained and able to feed themselves, I relished in giving them some freedom. A freedom where I didn’t have to watch their every step and make sure they weren’t falling down the stairs or jumping off the furniture while I wasn’t looking.
So it’s hard for us to think that God does want to spend every single minute with us. No matter what our age, He wants to be there for us in everything; in every failure, in every victory, in every experience.
He wants to be involved in our daily lives and the minutia of our daily lives. Because He loves us so much! You know God chose to create us, because He wanted a family.
When you submit to Him and allow Him to guide you, He will show up every time because our God is faithful. He is a loving and gracious Father.
2 Corinthians 5:7
For we live by faith, not by sight.
So if you haven’t, go out and make some memorials of times when God showed up for you. Paint something, write a song, make a lasting memorial of His goodness so that you can look back on it when you need a reminder. It doesn’t have to be a big event. Write down every time that you know in your heart that it was Him, showing up for you! If you’d like to share a time or two, feel free to write it in the comments.
In the meantime, here’s a beautiful song about believing in Him.
I keep a very large white board on the wall in my garage. As a family, we write prayers there-needs, wants, dreams, desires, healings, for others, etc. As those prayers are answered, we place a check mark by them to see the ones He has actually answered. It is a wonderful reminder of how He truly hears and goes beyond what we imagine.
That’s beautiful! I love that idea! Thank you for sharing!