While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 
1 Samuel 7:10-12

---

We all have pivotal moments in our lives—moments when the trajectory of our journey shifted. I’m talking about our rock-bottom moments and our mountaintop victories. It is in both of these types of moments, and the seemingly mundane times in between, that God shows up. 

What the author of 1 Samuel encourages us to do in these moments is to create reminders of how God comes through for us. In our darkest moments, God’s grace brings life and light to us, bringing comfort and new direction. In our victorious moments, God deserves all the praise for guiding us and providing opportunities for us. It is a good thing to reflect on how God has come through for us, even in the face of hard things or overwhelming odds. I’ll give you a silly example. 

When my wife and I wanted our first dog, we were dead set on getting a chocolate lab from the same place my parents got their amazing lab, Dude. The only problem was that this breeder was over 17 hours away from where we were living. We were going to be really close over Christmas, so we prayed and prayed and prayed that God would enable a litter of puppies to be born in time for us to pick up our puppy while we were home for Christmas. Sure enough, on the very last day of our window of opportunity we got the call that Moose, our amazing chocolate lab, was born. Even today, when things are hard, and we are waiting on the Lord to make a way, we remember how God came through for us with Moose. He is our living Ebenezer stone. 

As a church, we do this through Celebration of Hope, where every year we remember how God shows up for some of the most vulnerable people around the world through our Global Partners. We remember how, against all the odds, God made a way where there was no way. We remember how, thus far, the Lord has helped us, believing in faith that He will do it again.

Next Steps

1. What are the moments in your life when God has shown up and set a new trajectory for you? How can you memorialize those moments?
2. How might God be calling you to play a role in the churchwide ebenezer that is Celebration of Hope?