Ebenezer

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far has the Lord helped us.’” 1 Samuel 7:12
Here in 1 Samuel 7 we see the defeat of the Philistines by Samuel and the Israelites. The people had returned whole-heartedly to serve the Lord only, and the Lord caused a great panic to fall on the Philistines during the battle. As a reminder to the people, Samuel erected a stone as a monument of remembrance. It was to remind the people how God had helped them by giving them the victory over their enemies. Samuel called the stone ‘Ebenezer’, which means ‘stone of help’.
Sometimes we need reminders, like this stone, so that in times of trouble we can look back on what God has done for us in the past and how He has helped us through. These reminders are a great encouragement. One idea is to keep a journal of all the things God has done. Some things may be miraculous, like the way the Lord delivered the Israelites here (1 Sam. 7:10). But very frequently, God works in very natural ways. He will use other people, He will use ‘coincidences’. He will use radio interviews, books, and your friends, to speak to you.
Do you have something that happened in your life that could only be God? Then hold onto that; make it your Ebenezer, reminding you that God is for you, not against you; that He will be with you wherever you go and whatever you face, now and in the future.