Standing Stones

I always enjoyed playing the Memory game with my children.
Memory is a card game where all the cards are laid face down on a surface.
When it is your turn, you flip two cards over to see if they match.
If they match, you keep the pair…if they don’t match, you turn them over again.

It was always the game of choice with my children.
Since there were so many cards, I would split the pile in half when they were younger.
Then, we could play two games.

As they got older, I kept all the cards together.
They eventually were better at the game than me.
It was a wonderful way to keep their memory sharp.

I was thinking about our memory the other day.
I realized that we are not required to remember much any more.
Our phones have numbers programmed in as favorites.
We can call home at the push of a button.

My children tease me because I rehearse cell phone numbers in my head.
I can rattle off all of our phone numbers…not as a matter of pride.
Rather, as a sort of mental gymnastics.

After Moses died, Joshua was the leader of the people.
He would lead the people into the Promised Land.
The Israelites needed to cross the Jordan, which was at flood stage.

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today, I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’ “
Joshua said to the Israelites, “…as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” (Joshua 3:5,7,8,9,13)

The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant did as the Lord instructed.
As they put their foot in the Jordan, the river stopped flowing and piled up in a heap.

The people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed crossing on dry ground. (Joshua 3:16,17)

The Lord directed Joshua to choose twelve men, one from each tribe.
Each man was to take up a stone from the middle of the Jordan River.
He was to carry it on his shoulder to their camp on the other side.
The stone was to be put down at the place where they stayed the night.

And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendents ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground…The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what He had done to the Red Sea…He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God. (Joshua 4: 20-24)

Standing stones.
Stones of remembrance.

We need them.
Imagine all the events in our lives laid out before us.
We look at them and remember.
Remember what the Lord has done.

Sometimes, the events seem disjointed.
It is like turning two cards over in a memory game and not finding a match.
As believers, we know that the Lord is weaved through our experiences.

The Holy Spirit will bring to mind the events in our life.
He will help us understand the things that just don’t seem to make sense.
The Holy Spirit will help us remember.
The Holy Spirit will help us apply God’s Word to our lives.

All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:25,26)

The Holy Spirit helps us construct a pile of standing stones in our life.
When people ask us, What do these stones mean?, we have our answer.
God did this so that all will know that the hand of the Lord is powerful.
Fear the Lord your God with reverence and awe.