Here I Raise My Ebenezer

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 7:12 NIV)

One of the reasons it is important to keep reexamining and updating our worship practices (especially liturgical worship) is so new generations can understand it. It does us little good to go to church and recite and sing words and phrases that we have no clue what they mean. One of the Lutheran worship books that was in use about 30 years ago uses words like "remission," "Sabaoth" and "Paraclete." An unchurched person visiting for the first time wouldn't have a clue.... and frankly most of us in today's church wouldn't either.

A favorite hymn of mine is "Come Thou Font of Every Blessing." The second verse always mystified me though... it begins, "Here I raise my Ebenezer..." I would sing that line faithfully every time we sang that hymn, but I didn't have a clue. Finally my curiosity got the best of me and I researched it. What a great phrase! An Ebenezer is a marker that reminds us of God's real presence and help in our lives. It is a place where we can look when our faith is running dry and say... "I remember when God did this for me. He is real!"

In the Bible story in 1 Samuel, Samuel used a stone to mark a place where God helped him. We don't need a literal stone or marker. We can simply "mark" the event in our memories. Since discovering this great phrase, I have made it a habit to "raise my Ebenezer" whenever God makes his presence known to me in a special way. These Ebenezers have become very valuable to me in the ebbs and flows of my faith walk. When doubt threatens to overcome me, I retrieve one or more of these markers from my memory and know that only God could have been there with me then. It is a powerful and effective tool.

Make a habit of raising Ebenezers in your life. Also... if you are using a word or phrase in worship or in hymns that you don't know what they mean, find out. It may be a real gem!

Father,
Thank you for the Ebenezer opportunities in my life. They remind me that you have been real to me in thee past andd that even in a faith crisis I can trust that you are here with me. Amen.

Joys: Celebrating Daniel's birthday today; plans to pick strawberries with Cecelia this morning; Ebenezers