Ebenezer System

A few months ago, i read about a story of remembrance in the Bible. When God granted victory to the Israelites against the Philistines, Samuel took a stone and set it up in remembrance of the goodness of the Lord saying “Thus far the LORD has helped us.” - 1 Samuel 7:12(b)

Wikipedia defines it as a memorial established in remembrance of what God has done for a person or a group of people. 

The name Ebenezer was first mentioned in 1 Samuel 4.  It was a place where the Israelites camped and suffered defeat against the Philistines.  Three chapters later, the Israelites repented of their sins and God's blessing was restored to them. That was when they received victory against the Phillistines.

It has been said that Samuel named the stone of remembrance ‘Ebenezer’ to remind the Israelites that God can turn things around for them. What a wonderful idea, right?  So i thought, why not come up with our own 'stone of remembrance' as a way of reminding us of God's faithfulness in our lives? So before we end the year 2011, Dens and i started our own Ebenezer System at home.

It's a very simple concept of just writing down things that we are grateful for, whether big or small. This box will continue to be filled with thanksgiving all throughout the year.  Each time God does something good for us, we just write it down and drop it in our Ebenezer box. Don't forget to write the date too!

Here are a few of the things that we have written down so far:

• Thank you for giving us a very healthy and normal baby Dawn. Feb 22, 2011
• Thank you for a super fun-filled trip to Hong Kong with the family. October 27, 2011
• Thank you for Troy's very good grades in school. November 2011

Now here is the fun part. Each time you're experiencing those not-so-good days, just pull out one piece of paper from the box and be reminded of God's goodness.  A simple reminder of our blessing is a sure-fire way to renew our faith and joy.

I end with one of my dad's favorite verses found in 1 Samuel 17:37 "The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Remember.  Believe.  God is faithful!