ebenezer stone, faith, God's help, tangible presence

My Ebenezer

What exactly is an Ebenezer Stone? It’s one of those words that lies dormant in the cob-webbed part of my brain. Yet, this morning as I read my friend’s post about her autistic daughter’s latest miraculous achievement, this word came to my mind as I commented on her post.

To be honest, before I pressed “send” I had to look up Ebenezer Stone just to make sure I was using the term correctly! I really wasn’t sure what it meant; it had just popped into my mind as I wrote my comment. When I looked up the word (thank you internet) I found this definition in an article:

Literally speaking, an Ebenezer is a “stone of help,” or a reminder of God’s Real, Holy Presence and Divine aid. Spiritually and theologically speaking, an Ebenezer can be nearly anything that reminds us of God’s presence and help: the Bible, the Sacramental Elements, a cross, a picture, a fellow believer, a hymn – those things which serve as reminders of God’s love, God’s Real Presence, and God’s assistance are “Ebenezers.”

I almost fell out of my chair when I read this definition. Without really knowing what I was writing in my comment to my friend, God had given me just the right words to describe their miracle.

How I needed to know I am still hearing the Holy Spirit whisper to me. That comment was not from me. I didn’t even know what the word meant!

It was from Him.

So, I share with you two miracles today.

One is my friend’s post about her daughter writing her name. It will give you chill bumps. (Click on “name”)

The second is the promise that God is still speaking. Maybe you already knew that for sure, but I need to be reminded every now and then and encouraged that if someone else gets snippets from Him, I will too.

The word itself Ebenezer Stone became my Ebenezer today. Rhema’s shaky handwritten name is their’s. I pray He shows you one today. If He does, will you share it with us?

Much love,
andy

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.” So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel; the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. The towns that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites. (1 Samuel 7:12-14 NRSV)

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