God’s timing is perfect. As I read through our chapters for today, Joshua 1-4, Psalm 143, and Luke 14, I couldn’t get one particular chapter out of my mind. Joshua chapter 4. It came flooding back to me…the stones of remembrance. I have previously written a post on this chapter because I believe God has put some major reminders in place for me. You can read my previous post here…
Today, as I am facing some unknown health challenges, I pulled up this past post, read it and was visually reminded of what God has done for me. Is He a one and done God? Nope. What He has done before He will do again.
I have been asking God for wisdom, peace and encouragement over the last few days. He has provided for me moment by moment, but I have kept seeking and knocking to find something more to hold onto. Low and behold, as I opened my computer and read my old post on Remembrance, it happened. God provided just what I was asking and seeking Him for. My own words of how He worked in my life have come full circle to remind me of how powerful He is and how much He loves me. Never did I dream when I wrote this post in 2018 that it would be the words God gave me to write for this Bible Journal that would come back and encourage me today.
Today I am thankful for this Bible Journal. Believe me, there are many days I write and wonder “Why am I doing this”? I have spoken with other writers and I know we all experience the same thoughts. It is hard to know if any of my writings really make a difference. It takes hours to write one post. I have written more than 150 Bible Journals. That means I have spent more than 300 hours learning and applying the Word of God. 300 hours is 1.79 weeks. Wow. Small things and small obediences add up.
Proverbs 25:11 says, “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken at the right time.” I believe that this also applies to words written. My written words 4 years ago in remembrance of what God did are now a powerful reminder to me that God heals and rescues us in our time of need.
God wants us to REMEMBER what He has done. The Bible is the source of all that God has done. He wants us to create reminders. Reminders so that when hard times come (and they do and will) we have a visual reminder of what He has done in the past.
Instead, be faithful to the Lord, as you have been till now.
Joshua 23:8
God reminds us throughout His Word of how He has helped His people in the past, and He also promises that He will continue to help them in the future. God knows we need reminders when we face various challenges in life. These reminders give us something to hold on to. The stones in Joshua 4 gave the people a visual reminder of what God had done for them.
Then Joshua called the twelve men he had chosen, and he told them, “Go into the Jordan ahead of the Covenant Box of the Lord your God. Each one of you take a stone on your shoulder, one for each of the tribes of Israel. These stones will remind the people of what the Lord has done. In the future, when your children ask what these stones mean to you, you will tell them that the water of the Jordan stopped flowing when the Lord’s Covenant Box crossed the river. These stones will always remind the people of Israel of what happened here.”
Joshua 4:4-7
When storms of life come, what do you turn to give you strength? God’s Word is full of reminders and promises of His power and majesty. Writing down what God has done for you in the past gives you a great reminder of what He can and will do for you in the future. What He has done before He will do again. Be faithful, stay the course. Cling to the promise that He is always faithful and that He will always be there to carry you through.