Marge and I have this little game we play around the house, the “remind me” game. Appointment to remember? You say, “hey would you remind me that I have this Tuesday at 2?” A dentist appointment coming up? You say, “hey, would you remind me of that the day before?” I know for me it’s a way that I can offload some of the responsibility of remembering and it somehow makes me feel better. We both often times can still forget the reminders because many times we catch each other at weird busy times when the other didn’t really hear well enough to commit it to memory anyway. Oh well, now as we get older we’ve learned one truth, just stop and go write it down. But you know in life, we have a very nasty habit, we can forget things very, very quickly. Sadly, even the good things. The positive events that happen in our life can quickly fade from view just like Marty McFly in that family photo. Events that were ground-shaking and life-altering in the moment can in a few short days or weeks, become a distant or even forgotten memory.
So, if this is true, how can we protect our memories of the good that God has done in our life? I think that all of us that follow Jesus as our Savior can easily name at least a dozen or more amazing or even miraculous events that God has arranged in our recent lives. The question is, how do we keep those events at the forefront of our psyches, refusing to forget the amazing things that God has done for us? Let’s explore.
Today we look at Joshua chapter 4 and almost the entire chapter revolves around just this topic. Enabling yourself to remember and commit to memory the amazing things that God has done. As God is halting the flow of an angry, overflowing flood level Jordan river so that His people can safely cross, His desire is that the people remember this event. That the people not forget this amazing miraculous moment. God commands Joshua to have one man from each of the twelve tribes to gather one large stone from the dry river bed and assemble them on the bank. God also commands Joshua to assemble twelve stones in the river bed itself. Two memorials erected to God so that the people would not easily forget this amazing miracle that God performed to bless them and protect them. It seems God is all about us not forgetting, but instead quickly and readily remembering the good He does in our lives. My question for you is this, what are you doing each and every day to remember the amazing things that God does in your life?
A few years ago, I had a man that I respect very much ask me to do something. I was talking to him about an amazing stretch that God had just walked us through, and it consisted of one God moment after another. The timing and connections of those moments were directly from God, unbelievable in their nature and amazing in the people He used to achieve them, many of them people we had never even met. The man told me to go outside, select a few rocks of different sizes from my yard and then carefully write down one of these God moments upon each rock. When finished, this collection of rocks would tell the amazing story of how God had moved us from one phase of our life into the next, all by His hands, His wisdom, His love and His care. He said, Dan when times are tough and God seems distant, go spend some time with those rocks. Sit and admire the message they hold. Be still and read what is written along the rough, rocky surface of those stones. In those quiet moments, you will be reminded of the goodness, provision and constant love of Christ. What a lesson God taught me in this exercise.
For all I know he might have taken this exercise directly from our study chapter today. You see, God is constantly working amazing events in our life, but what really matters is how we react to them and how we remember them. If we recognize them yet quickly forget them, we are greatly hindering how we see God in the moment and how we see Him in our near future. If we set up stones on the shore and commit His acts to memory, we are glorifying the work of God and keeping it ever so close in our memories. In this, we allow ourselves to now gaze at that memorial to God and relive the moment where He moved so greatly to bless His children.
And as you remember, as you recall the good work of God, there is also another purpose. To be able to tell others. To share with the world how good God is and all about the amazing things that He has done. Listen to what God instructed Joshua:
“And he (Joshua) said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” Joshua 4:21-24
Today, think about the good work of God in your life. Major events from the past and even the little “God winks” from the last few weeks. What are you doing to memorialize these in your life? Have you written them down? Do you journal about them? Do you have a blog you share? Do you write them on stones and keep them on a bookshelf in your den? You see, there is one constant in this life, God will continue to do amazing things in the lives of His children. But the one big question is, how will His children remember and memorialize the great deeds of the Lord?
That is your challenge for today. Commit to memory the great things the Lord has done in your life. Don’t simply revel in them in the moment and then quickly let the memory fade until you're asking God where He is. He is always close and could have just finished a miracle in your life, but without a proper memorial, it can and will be easily forgotten. I challenge you to start a daily journal. Something quick and easy, maybe just a few lines per day. Every morning, write down your requests of God and then write down how He has recently moved in your life. Be patient, this is not a project for a few days, give it at least a month or two and then go back and spend a quit afternoon going back over your journey with God. I feel confident as you do, you’ll see what seems like a random collection of events start to reveal itself as a wonderfully made, intricate and beautiful connected web of activity. A perfectly symmetrical web that God weaves all throughout and into our lives as He touches every aspect of our being with His goodness and care.
You see God is always moving and God is always blessing. The question is, are we memorializing what He’s doing in our lives? Start today. Just as God instructed Joshua and the people to collect and stack stones to remember, start stacking your own stones. And in doing so, make a commitment to memorialize all the good that God pours out upon your life. His good work is there, go find it.
God’s rich blessings upon you.
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