9-25-26

9-25-26

The Meaning of the Stones

 Joshua 4:1-7
4 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,
2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

God told Israel to carry twelve stones out of the riverbed -- not as decoration, but as testimony. When children asked what the stones meant, the answer would be a story of God's faithfulness. Every family has stones. A marriage that survived what should have ended it. A child who came back. A diagnosis that reversed. A provision that arrived with no natural explanation. These are your stones. They are not meant to gather dust in the corner of your memory. They are meant to be carried forward into your promised land and set up as a declaration that God was in it.

What are the stones of God's faithfulness in your own story that you have never fully acknowledged or shared with those around you?  Share one specific story of God's faithfulness with a family member, friend, or fellow church member this week. Let your stone become their encouragement.

You are loved and YOU have been prayed for this day! Trent