Hanukkah for Us Gentiles - Day 7

 December 13 - Day 7

Ebenezer shown here
in the bottom right 
of the picture.

BACKGROUND: The third blessing of Hanukkah recited only on the first night of the holiday starts "blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us..."  Can we just stop for a moment to thank God for His sustaining grace today?  I don't know what you've been through since we lit the last Hanukkah light in 2022, but if we rehearsed it to one another I believe our mutual responses would be, "God brought you through a lot!"  Losses would be overwhelming, sicknesses and surgeries would be countless, worries and frets innumerable.  But God - God sustained us through them all.  

In our lawn as I was growing up, we had this oddly shaped stone - it went everywhere with us and sits in mom's yard to this day.  We call it Ebenezer.  My parents wanted to remember a time in their life when God really came through for them.  There was a time in our family's story when the difficulties seemed to pile up along with the debts. We were living in Springfield and my parents were both in Bible college with three kids and me on the way, and the stories of the times God came through again and again are numerous and sweet.  The financial miracles He did for them.  The challenges they came through because of God's goodness and strength.  They never wanted to forget them.  

Enter Ebenezer the stone.  The name Ebenezer means "hither by Thy help I've come".  That stone reminds us we didn't get to this point or through that difficult season by sheer will or grit.  We made it to this day by the help of God.

REFLECTION: It's time to take inventory.  All glory to God - how did He sustain you this year?  What did He see you through?  Have you had such a significant year for which you need to raise your own Ebenezer by finding a stone of remembrance or reminder of God's goodness?  

PRAY: Count your blessings.  List all the things God brought you through this year.  Name them one by one with gratitude in your heart.