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REFLECTIONS
Thus far has the Lord helped us

George C. Bush

I Samuel 7:12-13

I recently had the privilege of speaking at a 50th wedding anniversary. Events in the days before the celebration reminded me of the stone memorial in 1 Samuel 7. God had routed the Philistines. Samuel responded by raising up a stone that he called Ebenezer, “stone of help”. He chose the name to remind the Israelites that “Thus far has the Lord helped us.”

Our anniversaries – wedding anniversaries, church anniversaries, birthdays – are like stone memorials. They remind us to look back to the ways God has helped us. God may have seen us through financial crises, through illness, through bereavement. Our arriving at the anniversary shows us that we have cause to say, “God has helped us.”

The passage looks ahead as well as back. The battle was decisive; the Philistines did not invade Israel again. It is good to look back and thank God for what He has done for us. However, our anniversaries should also be times of looking ahead and trusting God for equally exciting times in the future. Even 50th wedding anniversaries and 80th birthdays can be times of anticipating new blessings from God. Let’s move beyond thinking of anniversaries as souvenirs of the past; they should be springboards into the future.

Reflections is a column of brief reflections on Scripture passages. This one is by George C. Bush from Bedford, N.S. Freelance submissions (200-250 words in length) are welcome.

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Last modified May 4, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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