The Stone of Help

Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

─ 1 Samuel 7:10, 12 NKJV

Darcy ooo’d and ahh’d as she walked through her sister Annette’s new home. Suddenly her eyes were drawn to a piece of art hanging in the den. It was an image of a young girl. Her face was hidden by sunbeams as she danced in a field. “What’s this?” Darcy asked. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

“I found it at a thrift shop,” Annette replied. “It reminds me never to discount God’s protection and provision. It’s a constant reminder of when I was lost, and He rescued me.”

In 1 Samuel 7, the Philistines attacked the Israelites while they were sacrificing to the Lord. The Lord roared in the heavens so loudly that it confused the Philistines. The Israelites, with God’s help, defeated them supernaturally. Samuel, the judge, prophet and priest of the Israelites, erected a memorial, a large stone, and named it Ebenezer, which means “stone of help,” to remind God’s people of His intervention.

When the Israelites passed the stone, they remembered, and it strengthened their trust in God.

As we face our own battles, we need reminders of the crucial turning points in our past where God showed up and supernaturally helped us.

Today’s One Thing

Think about the memorials from your past that give you strength to trust God for difficulties today. Did you share that season in your life with someone? If so, call them and recount the ways in which God delivered you. If not, share that testimony with someone you think it could encourage.

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