Standing Stones in the Bible
In Old Testament times, when God wanted His people to remember an event or a place, he would have them erect standing stones. They would bring large stones and stack them into a pillar. This would make a memorial that would commemorate that event or place for generations to come. I just read about this in my morning time this week. After the children of Israel crossed the Jordan, God commanded Joshua to have the people create a memorial.
Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. Joshua 4:4-7 KJV
Why did God ask the children of Israel several times to stack stones to remember events by? God knew they would forget. He didn’t want them to forget the mighty acts that He did for them. Not only did he want them to remember the event or place, He wanted their children to see the standing stones and ask what they were for. When they did, the parents could tell them what great act God had done there.
Remembering by Writing It Down
Over two thousand years later, God no longer asks us to put up standing stones. Yet, He wants us to remember when He works on our behalf. Here’s the problem, though: we’re forgetful. We quickly forget what God did for us in one season of life. Maybe He comes through in a big way financially for us. Later, we face a similar situation, and we automatically fear that God won’t come through for us. How many times do we fear the same thing over and over again? Yet God comes through every time.
Often, we forget what God has done in the past simply because we don’t write it down. There’s something about writing things down that helps it to stick with us. It’s often been said…
The shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory.
If we want to remember something, we need to write it down. If we want to remember how God worked for us in the past, we must write it down. What’s the best way to do that? Journaling.
Journaling
I am a huge advocate of journaling. That’s why I created the Faithfully Stepping Journal. Every morning, the first thing I do in my journal is to write down what I am thankful for. Every day I have a chance to record what God did for me the day before. Most days it’s not something huge. But the times when God does come through in a big way, I write it down the next morning in my journal.
When I get discouraged, I simply flip through the pages of my journal. It reminds me of all the good God has done for me, whether that be something little or something huge. Whenever I finish a journal, I flip back through it and remind myself once again of all that God did for me during the past six months.
What’s really fun is to find an old journal from several years ago and flip through it. I am reminded of so many blessings. The blessings range from small to huge…the baby finally slept through the night, the kids are feeling better today, a new family joined the church, we received a check in the mail, Malachi got saved yesterday.
Getting into the habit of writing down God’s blessings every day helps so that you don’t miss any, whether they are big or small.
A Pen and a Journal
We no longer have to build standing stones. We simply have to pick up a pen and a journal. When we remember all the ways that God has provided for us and blessed us in the past, it is much easier to trust Him with the future.
Faithfully Stepping Journals
If you’re interested in my Faithfully Stepping Journals, you can snag one HERE. These six-month journals use an easy format to help you grow in your relationship with God using journaling, Bible reading, and prayer time.
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