I am so excited to get to today! God is the God of miracles and in these miracles, we must remember. This is the last piece of how our faith is built!
A lot has happened since we last talked about Joshua. One, Thanksgiving happened. Two, life just seems to keep on moving. However, when we slow down and remember what the Lord has done for us, this is how our faith is built.
Let’s remember.
We’ve been following Joshua and this amazing story in an attempt to build our faith. If you missed it, check out; How our faith is built…Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.
Today, we will conclude this series as we reflect on Joshua 4:1-7;
When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 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, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 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.”
Many years ago, I heard my cousin speak at my home church about memorial stones. He was referencing from a passage in Samuel. But come to find out, when God parted the Jordan and instructed Joshua and the people to take these stones so that they might never forget what God did for them, God was building their faith. They began erecting monuments throughout the land. God did miracle after miracle for them, bringing them to the place God had promised.
God always keeps His promises.
So when my cousin spoke about these memorial stones, he gave a directive for us to remember. To look back over our lives and see what the Lord had done for us. He knew, just as God knows, the day would come when we would need to remember. By documenting these monumental movements of God in our own lives, it would help us to remember. They day will come for each of us when we are faced with the biggest crisis of our lives and we will need to remember what God can do.
One of the toughest times of my life was in 1992. I was in my freshman year at college and my mother had what should have been a tragic car accident. She should have died. The doctors prepared us that she may never walk again. But at the age of 80, she can walk circles around me. God is the God of miracles! It is important for us to remember.
So today, when I am faced with life’s trials and tribulations, I can remember that day and how bleak it seemed and how it felt as if all hope was lost. But hope was not lost and God was not done. God keeps His promises and all things are possible for Him who believes.
All things are possible with God.
Remembering is key to building our faith. So write down those experiences. Just because you may not think it’s a miracle, doesn’t mean it is not one. What one man deems to be ordinary, another man feels it is extraordinary.
Joshua listened to God, trusted and obeyed. In his obedience of taking the stones, we can believe the miracle of the Jordan.
Verse 9 reads; “Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.”
What memorial stones do you need to remember?
Remember; this is how our faith is built.
Let us pray;
God of all generations; forgive us for not remembering all that You have done for us. Forgive us for not believing. Remind us that all things are possible with You. Help us to remember. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
P.S. Leave me comment below and tell me about the memorial stones in your life. Forward this message to a friend that might need to remember. Share of Facebook and tag me in it. Until next time, remember. -M
One thought on “How our faith is built… Part 5”
Awesome! Praise God!