Joshua 4:1-7, When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, and command them saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’” Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ Then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” 

As you look back over your life, think for a moment about all you have seen God do in your life and heard that He did in someone else’s life. Have you written them down? Are there things you have kept that spark that memory now and then? God told the Israelites, over and over, things they were to say and do, not just as a reminder for them, but to teach their children and generations to come. When God moves in your life, give Him glory and set a memorial of some sort as a reminder. You don’t have to build a monument in your front yard, but you could keep a notepad with a list of verses He gives you at just the right time, answers to prayers, and those times when He shows up in a way that there’s no mistaking that it is Him. 

The memorial God told them to set with the stones by the Jordan was to remind and encourage the Israelites forever, so when they faced the next seemingly impossible situation, they could think back to how God showed Himself mighty before, so He can do it again! They are still clinging to these stories today. Do your children and grandchildren know about the times you have seen God show up or do the impossible? If you can’t think of anything, ask God to show you and remind you of those times He was there, because there are quite likely things that have happened that maybe you just didn’t think about the fact that it was Him. He loves you ~ you are not on your own if you are His child, you know He is always at work in some way in your life. Take some time and ask God to help bring to mind all He has done, and then think about any that you could maybe do something to have your own little memorial for generations to come to know that “this was God”. The enemy is after your mind, your children’s, and grandchildren’s minds, and the best way to fight is with the Word of God and our Memorials that remind us of His faithfulness!