Don't forget how well God has treated you.
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen--one from each of the tribes of Israel. 5 He told them, "Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the LORD your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder--twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 6 We will use these stones to build a memorial.
In the future your children will ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' 7 Then you can tell them, 'They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the LORD's Covenant went across.' These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever."
Joshua 4:19-24 The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month. Then they camped at Gilgal, just east of Jericho. 20 It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River.
21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, "In the future your children will ask, 'What do these stones mean?' 22 Then you can tell them, 'This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' 23 For the LORD your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and He kept it dry until you were all across, just as He did at the Red Sea when He dried it up until we had all crossed over. 24 He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the LORD's hand is powerful, and so you might fear the LORD your God forever."
Yesterday we saw that the Israelites had a problem, there was a powerful force between them and the good things that God had Promised to give to them, we learned that God isn't surprised by the circumstances that stand his people and his promises. The fact is, those problems are there for our benefit, just another example of how God's logic is completely opposite of human logic.
Those trials are there for a reason:
God wants us to learn to rely on him. What a difficult lesson to learn, forty years ago they wouldn't rely on God, but now after forty years wondering around in the wilderness, they finally get to claim God's promise.
So we can teach the next generation. What good is it to discover how awesome your God is and then not pass it on to your kids?
A testimony to his power. If there was never any opposition or road blocks then we would be self sufficient and we wouldn't realize God's power or have any need for it.
So you will fear him, both in His severity and in His goodness, He is to be feared (Job 23:13-16, Psalm 90:11, Jeremiah 33:9; Luke 5:26).
I need to remember his faithfulness, too bad that we don't set up memorials these days to commemorate when we have seen God work and when he has proven his love for us.
Thank you Lord for revealing yourself to us through your mighty deeds, help me to remember that you will keep your promises despite the trials of life.
