[Faith-talk] Be careful to remember

[WESLEY BURDEN]

Be Careful to Remember
In 1 Samuel 7:12, we read, "Then Samuel took a stone and set it between
Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far the LORD has
helped us.'"
Samuel rightly understood that the victory of the Israelites over the
Philistines was a result of the work of God on their behalf. It was God who
thundered and enabled the defeat of the Philistines (v. 10). In a very
simple and symbolic gesture, Samuel picked up a rock, set it at a particular
geographic location, and named it "Thus far God has helped us" as a
remembrance of what God had done for Israel on that day. Hitherto the Lord
had helped Israel, and it was imperative that Israel would remember God's
help going forward. How easy it is for us to forget the goodness and
provision of God and to even forget specific and highly memorable events in
our lives when we are sure that God has worked on our behalf! The Ebenezer
stone is an Old Testament example of a symbolic event that would help Israel
call to mind the faithfulness and power of God. Perhaps someday a child
would stumble upon that Ebenezer rock and wonder why it was there. The story
could then be told of how God delivered Israel from the Philistines as a
means to bolster the child's faith in God. Remembrance can and does spur
increased faith and faithfulness.

One of Satan's schemes is to distract us and allow us to forget how God has
been faithful to us in the past. Perhaps Satan will, with God's permission
(Job 1), bring tragedy into our lives to trick us into forgetting the mercy
of God as we become distracted by present difficulties. Or, perhaps, he will
exploit the goodness of God manifested in our lives by distracting us from
worshipping the true Source of the goodness. Whatever his methodology, his
desired result is that we forget God and His faithfulness to us. God, on the
other hand, wants us to remember (Deuteronomy 8:2, 18). Here is God's
warning to Israel for when they would enter Canaan and finally experience
the fruition of the promise of God to Abraham: "When you have eaten and are
satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has
given you. 
Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His
commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you
today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good
houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and
your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your
heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought
you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Deuteronomy
8:11-14). 
The lesson here is
that there is a direct correlation between the heart becoming proud and
forgetting God which inevitably leads to a less than faithful lifestyle.
When times are bad, we can get caught up in the overwhelming circumstances
and emotions, dwelling on ourselves rather than God, which is a twisted form
of pride.
When times are good, the many things around us to enjoy can become our
undoing if we forget our God Who is the best and most valuable resource that
we have. Our enemy is shrewd, and we must remember that we are vulnerable in
both good times and in bad. We are prone to forget the deliverance of God
and how He has worke! d in our lives specifically in times past. This is why
Samuel's example of setting up a rock and naming it "Ebenezer" 
matters. Samuel
made a point of it to remember and to help himself and the Israelites
remember a specific instance of God's faithfulness. As they would go on with
their lives, it would be valuable to call to remembrance this instance of
God's faithfulness because it would remind them of the very nature of God,
Who is faithful.

Now we don't necessarily need to go and find a rock or other object and name
it. It is not the exact methodology that needs to be applied as much as the
intentionality behind the methodology. In other words, it is not the
physical memory tool that matters nearly as much as the exercise and effort
to recall God's faithfulness on our behalf in the past. No matter what the
events are around us or how we feel, we need to call to mind Scripture about
God's love and faithfulness. And it is also helpful and edifying to remember
when we were in confusing, difficult places before and how God caused all
things to work for our good. We need to remember, for example, when we were
pulled out of a pit of despair, had our eyes and hearts opened to the truth,
saved from an addiction, delivered from temptation, spared a negative
relationship, miraculously provided for, granted new strength, given what we
prayed for, etc. We each have a story to tell of how God has worked in our
lives, and we, of all people, need to recall those provisions and works of
God in our lives. God is real, He is at work always around us and in us, and
He cares. He cares that we would remember His goodness such that we would
choose to believe and be faithful in the present.

We may not have named a stone "Ebenezer" in honor of God's deliverance, but
surely we have our own stories to call to mind of His faithfulness,
provision, mercy, love, and power. When we feel like giving up or giving in
or if we begin to feel nothing at all in regard to our Lord, let us be
faithful to call to remembrance the faithfulness of our God. May God enable
us to be intentional about remembering and to beware lest we forget.


Stu
<mailto:K5stu at sbcglobal.net>K5stu at sbcglobal.net
Reading your Bible today will help prepare you for A Brighter Tomorrow!
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