In Memory Of

Then Joshua set up in Gilgal the 12 stones they had taken from the Jordan, and he said to the Israelites, “When your children ask their fathers in the future, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ you should tell your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.'” – Joshua 4:20-22

After Joshua and the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, they took twelve stones (as God had commanded) from the riverbed and erected a memorial on the western bank. These stones served as a memento of their miraculous crossing, but also a reminder of God’s divine involvement in their provision and protection.

What are the “stones” that will act as your memorial? Where are they found? As you consider the events of your life (to date), what mementos exist that remind you of God’s divine provision and protection? No doubt, as with the Israelites, they will have most likely come “from the midst of” your experience. For example, when you consider the “Jordans” you have crossed, you should be able to extract your own “stones” like:

• words of encouragement from unlikely sources,

• passages of Scripture found at just the right moment, and

• peaceful moments of assurance, direct from the Holy Spirit.

What are your “memorial stones?” Perhaps it is time to ponder them anew and in doing so, remind yourself that it is God who carried you to the other side.

Since it is not granted to us to live long, let us transmit to posterity some memorial that we have at least lived. – E. Joseph Cossman