Stones of Remembrance
“And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, ‘Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 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.’ Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: 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: 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? 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 forever.’” Joshua 4:1–7 (KJV)
As women, we want loved ones to pass over Jordan into the promised land; since we are likely to outlive spouses, the task of passing life stories and spiritual heritage to younger generations often falls to us. We want them to remember what the Lord has done for us, so they can believe He will do the same and more for them and be encouraged to shoulder the load and carry stones of remembrance to their lodgings. We want them to honor the Lord for what He’s done and trust Him for future deliverances and promises!
My Stones of Remembrance are my written and spoken testimonies of sin forgiven, healings, answered prayers, provisions, hearts changed, deliverances, music of thanks and praise to God, family’s sports activities and lessons coached. Whatever your preferred mode, consider leaving Stones of Remembrance in your lodging places, “That all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever” (Joshua 4:24).
Father, thanks for priests’ feet that stood firm against testing waters and carried Your presence in the midst of our deliverance! We purpose to come daily before Your very presence, to take up stones from that river of deliverance and pass from the land of bondage to the land of promise. We pledge to shoulder the load and carry Stones of Remembrance to our lodging places, where we live every day. Teach us to lay them down and leave them there until everything is finished. Thank You, Father, for deliverance!