Ebenezer (not The Scrooge)

Ebenezer (Not the Scrooge)

Bible Blast: Read 1 Samuel 7:7-12

Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the LORD has helped us!” 1 Samuel 7:12

I’ve been writing in a journal since I was about nine years old. (I called it a diary back then.) Every time I look through one of my old journals, it’s a big ol’ trip down memory lane. I giggle when I look at the “cool” words I used to say. I feel a little twinge of pain when I read about some of the arguments my friends and I used to get into. I feel warm fuzzies when I read about the different things my parents and I used to do together. And I roll my eyes when I read about the crushes I had. But the best part about that trip down memory lane is seeing how God helped me through all the circumstances from the time I was a tween until now. That kind of remembering helps me have faith in difficult times, because I know if God helped me then, he’ll keep on giving me the strength I need now.

I feel as if every page of my journal is an Ebenezer stone, like the one Samuel set up that’s mentioned in today’s focus verse. At the top of every page of my journal, I could write, “Up to this point, the Lord has helped me!” One line from the song “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” says, “Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by Thy great help I’ve come.” Now you know what that means: “Right now I remember that God’s help has brought me here.” Cool, huh?

Take a minute and think of “Ebenezer stones” in your life. Those are the times when you saw God provide for you. He helps us with healing, money, food, safety, joy, problem solving, inspiration, relationships, and in many, many other ways. Can you think of at least three “Ebenezers”? Good! You’re going to need them for today’s Kickin’ Kraft!