Sunday 11 July 2010

Sunday Blessings: Picking up My Stones


Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen.He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."-- 1 Samuel 7:12

When the Israelites defeated the Philistines, the prophet Samuel raised a memorial to commemorate the victory. He named it Ebenezer, which means "stone of help." It was to remind everyone, including Samuel, that God was their help.

From the beginning, God has sealed special events with some kind of physical memorial.He gave Noah a rainbow.
He instituted the Passover feast as a memorial of Israel's deliverance from Egypt.
When he gave the law to Moses, he wrote it on two tablets so his people could see and remember.
The tabernacle, the ark itself, and the cloud that hovered over it were visible reminders of God's ever-present help.
In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus declared that Mary's gift of perfume, which she poured over him, should be a memorial.
What are the memorials in your life, the tangible reminders God has given you of his ever present help?
My orthopedic cane is one such Ebenezer for me. There was a time I could not take a step without it, due to my arthritis pain. I remember a cold and windy afternoon when I went to a wholesale medical store in the old part of the city to buy it.There was a traffic jam on the narrow streets, but my rickshaw driver helped me find the shop. I cried on the way home, wondering if I could ever walk properly again. I had almost forgotten how to walk.
But God be praised, as a result of prevailing prayers and medication I received healing a year and a half after I bought the cane. Now I don 't have to use it. I am unsteady on rough ground and have taken a few falls, but I can manage. Now my cane stands in a corner in the bedroom.
But I want to tell you that when I used my cane in public places I got lots of sympathy and kind treatment. I could jump queues- that was the best! LOL! Sometimes while waiting in a long line I wish i had my cane handy.
My eye glasses are also my Ebeneezer. An instrument of help to see better.My my hearing aid too is another one. It was the hardest to accept. I was born with sharp and perfect hearing and my hearing loss came to me as a big blow.The surgery I had in Christian Medical College, Vellore (South India), did not help at all. Sometimes I feel something blocking my left ear in which I had surgery, but I have not been to a specialist.
The sharpest thorns in my flesh are my poor eyesight and hearing. But God 's grace is sufficient for me. People with unseen disabilities like I have have extra struggles. In my country we don 't have any assistance for disabled people like me. Do reach out and help a disabled person today my friend.

Look for the memorials, the stones of remembrances in your life. Whatever they are- perhaps a ring, a family Bible, a pair of crutches, a pebble you picked up during a journey - they can be anchors to your soul. When pain becomes severe or sorrow crushing, you can remind yourself of that memorial set in place in a time of greater strength, and you can pray, "Oh, God, keep me faithful to that." Then rest your heart on the faithfulness of the One who has given you help in the past, that One who helped you raise the stone of remembrance in the first place.


God, your understanding of us is so great. You know that we need visible reminders of your faithfulness. Show me what reminders I can establish in my life that will stand in the face of all the future might bring.
(adapted and inspired by a devotional by Joni Eareckson Tada)


14 Fertilize my soul:

Felisol said...

Dear Amrita,
After reading Lidj's post, I found a rather small stone and placed it in our garden, my Ebenezer Stone.
I think I need to remember not only my trials,but the fact that till this day the Lord has been helping.

I've had my turn in a wheel cheer too. Even as you say, one gets lots of sympathy, the fact that I couldn't walk on my one was horrible.
It's amazing though, that people so willingly sympathize only with what they can see.
If I could have a plaster around my cronic fatigue syndrome, I know people would be more accepting, when I have to decline social gatherings , travles e.t.c.

Enough about that.
Life will always be full of challenges as well as blessings.
My father used to say, "If I wasn't ill, I probably wouldn't need the Lord this much, and who knows what would have become of me then?" He had migraine from he was five till his old age.

I look at my Ebenezer Stone and I praise God. This far he has been helping.

Kathryn said...

Dear Amrita.

You are such a blessing to me. :)

Have a good day.

Robin said...

God bless you Amrita!

Nikki (Sarah) said...

God richly bless you...and make His face always shine on you my friend.....

Holly, the Old Western Gal said...

I am glad your walking got so much better. But keep the cane handy when you venture on pebbles again, please!

I have internal deformities that make life difficult. No day is pain free, and working is very hard. But it could be so much worse!

I wish you could see an ear specialist.

Anonymous said...

Dear Amrita,
"But God's grace is sufficient for me." Thanks you for these words today. I needed to hear them. You humble me with your steadfast faith. I hope you had a peacefula nd blessed Sunday. This was a long, eventful week for you. If you can, please see an ear specialist. Prayers, Sally
p.s. I will have a new granddaughters; one this week and one next week. Say a little prayer for the moms, Lucy and Amanda. God hears all prayers. Thanks

madison said...

Hope you had a very relaxing Sunday. Your post has hit home for me today. I've come to some self-realizations today.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

A very inspirational post indeed. One that touches one's soul. You are so brave my friend that you were able to overcome great trials and challenges that came your way because God was, and will always be, your inner strength. It's nice to know that you don't need a cane anymore because God healed your arthritis. Let us all also pray that God will heal your seeing and hearing defects and you can have clear eyesight and clear hearing too. This we pray heavenly Father in the name of Jesus through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Thanks for the very inspirational and Spirit filled post. God bless you always.

Nadwrażliwiec said...

Thanks for God! He cares about ill and weak people. All grace for Him!

Amrita said...

I am glad I wrote about my disabilitis. For a long time I lived in denial of them and found it hard to cope.

Acknowledging your weakness helps you cope better with them.

The blog world helped me a lot.

Amrita said...

I know I should go a see an ENT specialist, but I just can 't do it, don 't know why.

Amrita said...

Dear Sally I will pray for both your daughters. Such an exciting and busy time for your family, welcoming 2 brand new gifts from God. Hugs for you all.

monsoon dreams said...

wow!beautiful lady,you dont look like u have so many problems.stones of remembrances,anchors to soul..how true.i do have a lot of them.over time i lost interest in them along with other things in life.i think it is high time i start taking care of them.thanks,amrita for this post.
praying for ur health...and my promise stands :-)

Crown of Beauty said...

I love the meaning behind EBenezer, it is a lesson God has been speaking about to me the past weeks.

This post comes as another confirmation.

Praise God you are able to move on despite the disabilities. Someone said that our disappointments are God's appointments.

I love your heart, dear Amrita.

Love
Lidj