My Ebeneezer

Yesterday we had a guest lead worship at our church. We sang this song that had the word Ebeneezer in it. I sang along thinking of none other than Scrooge, and the words seemed to fit. However, I learned as we took a break from the song that he wasn't talking about Ebeneezer Scrooge at all. An Ebeneezer is a rock tower of sorts that the Israelites would construct to remember all of the blessings and things that God had brought them through. As they were wondering around in the desert, they grew tired, complaining, and the like, but they at times would take the time to remember all that God had done, and therefore would continue to do. For every blessing they added a rock to their tower.

So this morning, I was thinking of what my Ebeneezer would be made of. What blessings, times of trial, or hardships would I remember that God was faithful to bring me through and therefore would be faithful again. Some of the physical blessings were easy.......family, kids, a house that keeps the rain off of me.....etc. Some of them were not hard to remember, but hard to be thankful for. It is hard to be thankful in the midst of a trial. It is hard to remember God's goodness, graciousness, and that HE actually is in control. I also think it is hard to see some of the trials as positive things instead of something to keep whining about. On these I need to remember that the time is over, for now, and be focussing on what I learned from it, instead of how it stunk to go through it. I think I am going to ponder the idea of an Ebeneezer for a while, and maybe be creative and come up with my own rock pile that I can add to. I think it is important to remember the good things God blesses us with and the hardships He leads us through. If we never look back, the future can look awful dark sometimes.