Promise:
We build trust and faith in God by remembering all that He has done.
Passage:
Have you ever seen a pink ribbon on someone’s lapel and knew immediately that they lost someone to breast cancer? Have you ever seen a “W.W.J.D.” written on a bracelet as a reminder that someone should ask themselves “What would Jesus do?” when faced with choices? Have you ever visiting a war memorial or monument commemorating a great person or place? Have you ever placed a sticky note on your mirror with a scripture or promise that you want to remember? Have you ever worn a cross pendant as a reminder of God’s sacrifice?
In our family, we have a tradition of putting pins on our Christmas stockings to commemorate things we have accomplished, places, we have been, and things we want to recall. As we grew up, me and my siblings added to our collections with award ribbons, “It’s a girl” pins from the hospital, souvenirs from vacations, and the like until the stockings were heavy from the weight of these memories. They were conversation starters when displayed on a mantle and served to mark some of the highlights of our lives.
The command “remember” is said at least 62 times in the Bible consistent with the theology that faithfulness flows from memory. God knew that our memory needs a nudge and this is the power of memorials, signs, or reminders.
This practice of remembering through memorials big and small is ancient. When Joshua crossed the Jordan river and the Ark of the Covenant passed on dry land, God commanded representatives from each of the 12 tribes to bring a stone. We pick up the reading in Joshua 4:4
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
Practice:
Using the example provided in Joshua, create your own memorial to something God has done for you. Think of a time when God was faithful in a time of trial or need to your personally. If you can’t immediately think of an example, you can use one in the Bible as a starting place. Try to avoid the more common symbols which you might already have in your home or on your body in jewelry or tattoos. Try to think a little out of the box.
Build your memorial. Thank God for His faithfulness. Tell someone about the meaning of your memorial.
Pause:
What memorial did you build? What is its meaning and significance? Recall the event or incident which inspired the memorial. How is this memorial a sign to you and others’ of God’s faithfulness? What is the memorial and related memories saying to you now about your job search?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________