Sacred Reminders
Ian Revie
David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem. But the giant’s weapons he placed in his own tent.
(1 Samuel 17:54, MSG)
I often get concerned about circumstances around me, and this concern can grow to become overwhelming and out of control very quickly which takes me out of my comfort zone. I like all my ducks lined up and waddling along in a line (I can allow my ducks to go forward in different shapes of line, but it must be a line!)
How many times do we get so caught up and so concerned about the next step forward, and everyone else's steps around us, that we lose sight of God’s promises and commitments to us? Why do we forget what He has promised, and what He has done already in our lives, and over-worry our situations?
In Jeremiah 29:11 His promise is clear: “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”
I struggle with the action of remembering and often need triggers to take me to that place - where I can remember all the great times that God had my life in His hands. I was reflecting recently on how the Bible's great faith leaders reminded themselves practically about their past, to support decision-making and the uncomfortable places that they fell into:
In (1 Samuel 17:54), David took Goliath’s armour back to his tent. Each time David saw Goliath’s armour hanging there, it was a sacred reminder of God’s faithfulness to him, and of God’s power that was available to him.
Jacob built an altar at Bethel, where God gave him a life-changing dream (Genesis 28:18-22).
The Israelites took twelve stones from the river Jordan and used them to build a miracle altar in Gilgal, reminding them of how God miraculously parted the waters for them (Joshua 4:20-24).
Samuel built a victory altar at Mizpah called ‘Ebenezer’ after God answered his prayer and marshalled the forces of nature to supernaturally defeat the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:12).
The word ‘remember’ recurs almost 250 times in the Bible - there is a reason why. We tend to remember what we should forget, and forget what we should remember. That’s why God is always telling us to build altars or make memorials.
Without sacred reminders we forget the spiritual lessons we have learned. The Bible records the literal weight of Goliath’s armour: 125 pounds, 15 ounces (57.12kg). Every time David took down his tent and pitched it somewhere else, the armour went with him. Why? Because it doubled as a daily reminder of God’s faithfulness to him and a great confidence builder. Whatever the future held, David knew that with God’s help he could handle it.
So I ask myself, and all of you reading & reflecting, how can we build sacred reminders of God’s faithfulness to us?
One thing Joy & I do to remind us of our long distance walks is we take a stone from the walk and engrave it. I feel the pain every time I look at it but, as we start to plan our next walk, the row of stones tells me this can be done.
At this time over Easter, we have many sacred reminders about our faith: we have a Saviour who rose, we have a stone that was rolled away from the tomb where He was buried, we have a tomb that is empty and strips of linen lying there. Let’s discuss small ways that each of us can do this amongst ourselves, to encourage each other, as we share this life of faith together.
