There are historic markers on the side of pretty much every road in my part of the country. Traffic generally flies past without pause, without notice. But I sometimes wonder about the people who lobbied for the sign to be placed or raised money to pay for it. Something significant happened there, something they didn’t want to be forgotten, a loved one’s exploits they didn’t want to fade from memory.
The Old Testament mentions several times when the Israelites set up their own roadside markers. Reminders of times and places where the Lord revealed Himself in a mighty, powerful, miraculous way. After crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land, the people built a memorial so they wouldn’t forget that “the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across” (Joshua 4:7). After defeating the Philistines, the prophet Samuel set up a large stone on the battlefield and “named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the LORD has helped us!” (1 Samuel 7:12). Those memorials became ways to teach future generations about the goodness of God.
Communion is one of the few things that Jesus instructed the disciples to keep doing, saying, “Do this to remember me as often as you drink it” (1 Corinthians 11:25). Remember. Do this so you will not forget my broken body. My shed blood. Why should we remember the bloodied Christ upon the Cross? So that we do not forget the vast, undefeatable, unstoppable love of God for us.
The Cross is the ultimate expression of the goodness of God. Undeserving as we are, He didn’t sit idly by or abandon us. Each of us has experienced other times when we’ve felt the fullness of God’s goodness towards us, the blessings He has given us. These things we must remember. Set up a memory stone. A marker on the journey. A place to look back to so that we don’t forget.
These stones also serve as part of our wall of protection. They add to our fortifications. So that on the day of trouble, when the enemy comes and levels his suggestions that God is not good, they have no power. They have no impact. Our remembrances of God’s goodness create a strong tower for us. They surround and encircle us.
So if you are weary in your time of trial, if you feel beaten down by the enemy, if you don’t know where to start to build up walls of protection and defense, start with the goodness of God. Declare that God is good. It is His nature. He cannot be anything other than good.
And then remember that you are a witness. You have seen and experienced and can testify to the goodness of God. Cast your mind back to those earlier times when the Lord helped you, when He defeated your enemy. Recall the love He has revealed towards you. His mercy. Those are His steadfast and enduring qualities. They are immutable and unchanging.
Start with God. Stay with God. Do not wander from this basic truth: God is good. The sinful actions of man cannot detract from, pollute, or destroy the goodness of God. It’s His very goodness that destroys the sin that wounds, hurts, and seeks to destroy us. So let His goodness build a strong tower, a mighty fortress, a place of safety around you.