Remember

Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the LORD your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea. . . . He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the LORD’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the LORD your God forever.”

Joshua 4:21-24

The Bible is full of reminders to God’s people to remember his mighty deeds. He calls us to remember because looking at what God has done in the past builds our faith for the present and for the future. He is promising that the same power he has demonstrated in the past is available in the present.

In today’s verses, Joshua is addressing the people after God had brought them across the Jordan River on dry land and into the Promised Land. Joshua tells them to build a memorial of this event, an altar they could see and touch and return to when they needed a reminder of who God is and what God had done in their lives.

When my sons were little, my husband told them this story, and then he established a new tradition. He bought a small fishbowl and a bag of quarter-sized rocks. It was summer, and school was out. Throughout the summer days, whenever we saw evidence of God’s work in our lives, even in the little things, we would put a rock in the bowl. The days became like treasure hunts because we were always on the lookout for signs of God’s hand.

I had forgotten about that experiment until today, as I was thinking about this passage. I now realize that what was intended to be a visual for our boys turned out also to be a reminder for my husband and me. Building an altar of memory stones created in us an alertness to God’s hand in our lives.

Lord, let my life be an altar and a tangible expression of your power and provision.

Let us remember the loving-kindness of the Lord and rehearse His deeds of grace. Let us open the volume of recollection, which is so richly illuminated with memories of His mercy, and we will soon be happy.

Alistair Begg(1952–), Scottish pastor, radio preacher, and author