Stones of Help

"And Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far the Lord has helped us.'” 1 Samuel 7:12 (NIV)

There are moments when the storms of life gather and you feel the clouds hanging low. The future looks uncertain. Questions rise in your mind. What will happen with my job? What about my family? What if the doctor’s report is not good? What if another crisis shakes the world? The truth is, none of us can predict tomorrow. None of us saw the pandemic coming. None of us foresaw wars breaking out. None of us can fully know what waits down the road. But here is the Ebenezer principle. 

You cannot control the unknown, but you can anchor yourself in what is certain. 

You can lift up the testimony of your life and declare, “Thus far the Lord has helped me.” That is not wishful thinking. That is not blind optimism. That is the record of God’s faithfulness in your story.

If you look back, you will see stones of help scattered all through your life. Times when God made a way when there was no way. Times when He carried you through pain you thought would break you. Times when He spared your life, when He gave you provision, when He healed your heart. Every Ebenezer in your past is a reminder that you did not get here by luck or strength alone. The Lord helped you.

David understood this deeply. In 1 Chronicles 17:16, after God blessed him beyond anything he could have imagined, David sat before the Lord and prayed, “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?” (NIV). David remembered where he started. A shepherd boy with nothing but a sling and anointing oil poured on his head. Now a king, surrounded by blessing, he could not help but ask, “Who am I?”

That is the spirit of gratitude that transforms how we face the future. When storms come, we do not deny the reality of pain or uncertainty. But we stand on the witness of our past. Up until this very moment, God has helped us. And if He has been faithful yesterday, He will be faithful tomorrow.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for every stone of help in my life. Thank You for carrying me this far. When I am tempted to fear what is ahead, remind me of what You have already done. Give me the courage to trust that the same God who was faithful yesterday will be faithful again. Amen.

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