The Stones of Our Lives

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the LORD your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder ... We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

So the men did as Joshua had commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, one for each tribe, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped for the night and constructed the memorial there. Joshua also set up another pile of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. And they are there to this day” (Joshua 4:4-9 NLT).

I love this Scripture and have always been drawn to places in the Old Testament where they choose to build memorials. They were not afraid of remembering the hard paths they walked, the difficult moments where God challenged them, or where they experienced breakthrough—marked moments both in the natural and spiritual.

I rededicated my life to Jesus when my children were four and five years old. My journey from the desert to my promised land has been fully displayed for them: the raw moments of repentance, the joy of redemption, the tears of shame and guilt turned to tears of forgiveness and restoration, the days I felt fully seen, known, and loved by my Creator, and the nights when loneliness seemed louder than His voice. They sat in the audience when I first shared my testimony nervously, and they sat behind the scenes when I recorded it confidently to be on display for the world. They hear my prayers for wisdom, trust, understanding, and faith and hear my rejoicing and giving God the glory in all things. They have witnessed it all.

Those moments are my spiritual stones that will have a generational impact, just like the memorials built by the Israelites. My children will tell their children of God’s goodness in my life; it is and will be the evidence of His deep love for His sons and daughters. I wrestled with my past as Abraham wrestled with God. But we both left with new names because He is the same God. He is the same God in the Old Testament as He is in the New Testament, as He is today.

And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die (Revelation 12:11).

Don’t hide your stones, friends! Let your life be on display for all to see because if you are willing, those marked moments will be used for generations to build the Kingdom.

Let’s pray: Father, thank you for sending your son, Jesus, to die for me. Thank you for running after me and choosing me even before I chose You. My life is yours, Father; I lay it at your feet. Build the stones of my life into a memorial for Your glory and honor. I love you. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen!  

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Scripture is quoted from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.