My ebenezer

CHRISTIAN LIVING TODAY

Even if you’re familiar with the old hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” you may not realize it was written in 1757. The hymn writer included the phrase “here I raise my ebenezer,” and at that time, most people understood what it meant. Today? Not so much.

In Hebrew, ebenezer means “stone of help.” In 1 Samuel, chapter 7, Samuel set up a huge boulder as a marker and reminder of God’s divine intervention. Samuel was the first prophet, and he served as the human instrument through which God established the kings in Israel. The occasion was a battle with fierce enemies, but Samuel prayed, and the Lord brought victory on their behalf.

After this amazing miraculous event, Samuel set a huge stone as the commemoration of God’s actions and power and assistance.

Samuel wanted everyone to know and be able to recall God’s intervention: that at a crucial time, facing disastrous circumstances, God brought the victory. It was His faithfulness that brought His people safety.

This ebenezer declared a message, it was his way saying, “Look, God helped us every step of the way, and this victory is from Him and His provision.”

But don’t rest now, we have more battles to face. Remember, He is the source of every blessing.”

What about me and you today? Miraculous interventions from the Lord occur, and we seem to move on — life continues.

We need an ebenezer. We need a purposeful commemoration of victory, and of God’s provision. We must remember that miraculous event, when you knew with certainty, that only Almighty God made the difference. An ebenezer may represent a specific answer to a prayer or some need that no one knew about, except you and God. It could be that unique awareness, when your first thought was, “Whew! If I had not stopped for a cup of coffee, I would have been that car run over by an 18-wheeler.”

It might be a time when all hope was lost, but God showed up. Encouragement from a letter mailed days before your need even arose.

It may have been a phone call, at just the right time on just the right day, that specifically communicated God is real, and He knows who you are — He knows where you live and cares for you.

So, friends, let’s raise our ebenezer. We must never forget where our help comes from. Until next week, Anita Onarecker, an Elgin resident, author of “Divine Appointment: Our Journey to the Bridge” and minister to women and adults, earned a Master of Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2007.