Thus Far the Lord Has Helped Us

12/26/23 – 01/01/24

Faithful in Our Wandering

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  12/28/23

As human beings, we are prone to forgetfulness—taking credit for the victory that God alone has won for us. But He is faithful to remind us anew of His work in our lives.

“Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’ve come.” How many of us have sung this line from the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” without knowing what an Ebenezer was, let alone how you could raise one?

In the Hebrew language, Ebenezer is a beautiful word made up of two individual words eben and hezer. Eben means “stone” and hezer means “help.” Put them together, and Ebenezer means “stone of help.” In 1 Samuel 7:12, this was an actual stone set up by Israel, but for us today an Ebenezer can be anything that serves to remind us of God’s faithfulness.

Later in the same hymn, we go on to sing: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” The reason we each need to raise our Ebenezer is because we—just like Israel—are susceptible to spiritual amnesia. We easily forget the source of our past victories, taking credit for what only God could have done. And that is why we need to do everything we can to help ourselves remember. We must raise our Ebenezer, or we will wander.

What is your Ebenezer? Even as you read this, God may be gently reminding you of His work in your life, forgotten long ago. Today is the day to remember His faithfulness to you.

Prayer: Father, forgive me for forgetting Your faithfulness to me. Help me raise my Ebenezer so that I remember Your love and care for me and that You are my fortress and my great reward. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands” (Psalm 119:10).