Remember...and Worship

Joshua wasn't the first to set a memorial stone marking a significant encounter with God.  As few hundred years earlier, Jacob had left home, fleeing the fallout from his betrayal of his brother, Esau. (Genesis 27-28) Alone, frightened of his brother's impending revenge, and likely ashamed of his own duplicity, Jacob stopped to make camp and laid his head upon a nice, comfy stone to sleep.  That night, God appeared to Jacob in a dream to help him remember three very important things on his journey.

God's Promise.  God reaffirmed the promise He had made to give Jacob's grandfather Abraham, and his family, a homeland.  God pledged to keep that promise to Jacob in spite of his lies and manipulations. God's faithfulness did not depend upon Jacob's merit.

God's Plan.  God assured Jacob that He would watch over him and that his travels would eventually lead him back to this place God intended for him to call home.  God's purposes did not require Jacob's understanding.

God's Presence.  Finally, God increased Jacob's awareness of what had been there all along...His presence.  In spite of appearances, God had not abandoned Jacob, nor would He.  God was with Jacob, whether he felt Him or not.

The next morning, still strong in the recollection of his nighttime revelations, Jacob converted his pillow into a pillar.  A sacred place to worship and remember the truths he would need to sustain him on his journey.  And to help us remember.

Can't we all relate sometimes to Jacob? Sometimes we feel alone, or fear we will be.  Sometimes we are feeling confused or out of control - why is this happening to me?  We may have regrets about something we've done or said, wondering if we can be forgiven.   In those moments, we can remember that God keeps his promises to us...even when we don't deserve it.  God has a plan...even when we don't see it.  And He will never, ever abandon us.

Almost 30 years later, Jacob returned to the place of his dream (Genesis 35), and worshiped God there.
He didn't worship the stone, because it was just a symbol.  He didn't worship the pillar,  even though it represented an extraordinary experience with God.  He worshiped God.  His promise-keeping, purposeful, and ever-present God.

What kind of journey are you on today?  What characteristic of your God do you need to remember...and worship?

Turning Messes Into Monuments

In my office I have a plaque that reads, "We all have a story to tell".  It's true, isn't it? Some of our stories are interesting, funny, or exciting.  Most of the time, though,  the ones I hear in my office are the other kind. The ones we never wanted to tell.  The messy ones.  The ones where we've made a mess of things.  Or something (maybe someone) has made a mess of us.

All of us have at least one messy story we could tell.  Every. Single. One. Of. Us.
It's part of the human condition.  Part of our broken world.

The Israelites must have surely thought, "what a mess," as they stood facing the flowing currents of the Jordan River.  They had already been through so much.  Years of it.  Talk about your dysfunctional families! Not to mention famine, slavery, homelessness.... Granted, much of it was their own doing, consequences of disobedience and idolatry.  But still.  They were weary.  And afraid.  What's more, they had glimpsed what lay on the other side:  more battles.  It would take another 40 years...and the encouragement of their leader, Joshua...and frankly, another miracle of God, to get those Israelites to go after what really lay on the other side of their messes:  the Promised Land.  And when they had set foot on solid ground once again, what did God say?

REMEMBER.  To help them remember, God instructed Joshua to have a man from each of the twelve tribes of Israel select a stone from the middle of the path He had cleared for them through the Jordan River and pile them at their place of rest on the other side.

"And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal.  And he said to the people of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in times to come, 'What do these stones mean?'  Then you shall let your children know, 'Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.'  For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.' " (Joshua 4:20-24 ESV)                

At the cusp of generations of pain and suffering, what was to be their take-away?  
Look. What. God. Did. No recriminations for poor choices or wasted opportunities.  No regrets. No "I told you so".  Only a memorial to His faithfulness and power in the land of their new beginning. What did God make of their messes? A monument.

I'm still putting together the finishing touches on my office.  But one I'm planning to add under that plaque I mentioned earlier, is another sign bearing a quote from a well know author, speaker, and Biblical counselor:

               "Since God writes your story, He knows what your're facing and exactly what grace you'll need to live his way."  ~ Paul David Tripp

It's why I do what I do...I want to help my clients see God's handwriting in their story, and the grace He gives to turn their messes into monuments.