Memorials

Have you made memorials in your life? What does it mean to make a memorial?

On Memorial Day, the tradition has been to have a parade leading to the local cemetery where a service is held to honor those who have gone before – dying in service to our country. We pray and set wreaths. On our loved ones' gravesites, we plant flowers and remember those we miss.

But have we made memorials to God's goodness in our lives? Have we remembered the places He's brought us from and has taken us to?

In Joshua chapter 4, Joshua had led the children of Israel across the Jordan River toward the Promised Land. When all of the people had completely crossed the Jordan, God told Joshua to take twelve men – one man from each tribe – and have them each take a stone from the midst of the Jordan – “from the place where the priests' (who bore the ark of the covenant) feet stood firm”. They were to carry the stones with them and leave them where they stayed that night.

So Joshua set up the twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan . The stones were to be a “memorial to the children of Israel forever”. They could look at it and remember where the Lord God had taken them from and where He took them to. God told them that when their children asked them what the stones mean, “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 Jordan were cut off.”

What kind of memorial have you made of the testimonies of God's workings in your life? Where has He brought you from in your life and where has He taken you? Can you recall specific times in your life where turning points occurred in your walk with the Lord? Has He saved your life from physical danger? Has He healed your body of disease? Has He healed broken relationships? Has the Lord forgiven you of sin you thought you'd never be forgiven of? Those are memorials that you can look back on and say, “God was there. He has done amazing things in my life.” Those are the things you and I need to remember and ponder upon from time to time, and to praise God for His faithfulness in our lives. Our God is SO faithful and SO good to us. He deserves all of our honor and praise!!