Ebenezer

I was singing the hymn “Come thou Fount� one Sunday morning in
church when we came to the line that said, “Here I raise my Ebenezer.� This
line puzzled me.  I did not know what an
Ebenezer was. The first image that came to mind was cranky old Scrooge from A
Christmas Carol. After church I sought to discover the meaning of Ebenezer.
Directed to 1 Samuel 7:12 I read this scripture: “Then Samuel took a stone and
set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer saying, ‘Thus far has
the Lord helped us.’� So, it was a stone memorial, to always remember what God
had done. After that day, I kept coming across stories in the Bible where there
was an Ebenezer. When God defeated the Amalakites for the children of Israel or parted the Jordan
River—each time they set up a memorial and named it, to remember
what God had done.

Much like the Israelites, I rejoice when God moves in my
life, but soon that fades away, something bad happens, and I forget the
tremendous things He has done. I realized that I need an Ebenezer. God has
given me miraculous moments since that time: when He called me to Asheville, when He gave
me a job, whenever He opens my eyes to see Him in a new way, or brings me
healing.

 This past Good Friday I went hiking with some friends to the
top of a rocky mountain to worship and read scripture and remember Jesus
Christ’s death on the cross. Along the way we noticed little man-made stone
heaps and towers and I remembered that word I had discovered, Ebenezer. Immediately
I considered my own Ebenezers and I asked the rest of the group if they had any
they wanted to share. It is good for me to meditate on what God has done and is
doing in my life and the lives of others. It gives me hope when I’m going
through a valley and peace to know that He is working. For, “he who began a
good work in me will carry it to completion.� I thank God that I’m seeing Him
work in my life. The God of the Universe being intimately involved in my life! How
amazing!