Spiritual Markers
I’ve wanted to sit down and write a blog for a while but my life and work load has kept me spinning. There are seasons in our lives that seem to demand more time, attention, and energy than others. When those seasons end, it’s important to take a deep breath and breathe in all of God’s goodness. Upon the completion of a major project, it’s essential that we take time to celebrate and to rest. In scripture, when someone saw God working in a significant way they would often build an altar and call God by a name that described their experience with Him.
We too can lay down spiritual markers that remind us of significant events, truths, seasons, and decisions where we see God playing a central role. We can use items, events, scents, pictures, and symbols as spiritual markers to remind us of God’s activity in our lives. Spiritual markers are reminders of God’s activity that have spiritual significance.
God CAN do anything but God in his divine providence doesn’t decide to “part the River Jordan” every day in our lives (Joshua 4:4-7). Spiritual markers give us a chance to see God’s finger prints in times where we can’t see God’s activity. Spiritual Markers help us recall God’s activity in our lives and help us remember that in the same the way God has been active in the past, God will be active in the future. God is completely faithful.
One of my favorite hymns is “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Singing verse three always struck me as odd. It says, “Here I raise my Ebenezer. Here by Thy great help I’ve come. And I hope by Thy good pleasure. Safely to arrive at home.” My mind would think, “Who is Ebenezer and why am I raising him?” I took a deep dive into scripture and found in I Samuel that Samuel was interceding on behalf of the Israelites who were trapped in the hands of the Philistines. The Israelites fasted and confessed their sin before God.
The Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered and assembled themselves to attack them. The Israelites were terrified and Samuel says, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the Philistines.” Samuel then made a sacrifice to the Lord and cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him. The Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed by the Israelites. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between the town of Mizpah and Shen. Samuel named it Ebenezer saying, “the Lord has helped us.” Ebenezer means “God helps us.” This stone Samuel laid down was a spiritual marker for the Israelites to remember what God had done for them against the Philistines.
So today I’m going to place a spiritual marker (with hopefully a plaque in the future) marking the words God provided me about the coming together of Park Memorial UMC and Cook Memorial UMC. I had been mulling over the situations both churches were facing. I had prayed for God to lead us to the place God had for us. My mind had formulated a plan of merging the two churches and moving the smaller congregation (Cook Memorial) to the larger facility (Park Memorial). In the summer of 2023 I took a sabbatical, which is afforded to pastors every seven years. I took a month off from work to travel to Montana where I hiked Glacier National Park. During my trip I was away from the everyday grind, in a setting where it is easier to hear God’s voice. I felt God speak to me. God’s exact words were, “You are looking at the situation backwards.” Immediately upon hearing those words I realized that the larger congregation (Park Memorial) was to downsize to the smaller church (Cook Memorial). On November 11, 2023 both congregations voted unanimously to approve the merger and the move to 1025 Allison Ln in Jeffersonville. We began worshipping together at the new location on December 10, 2023 and on September 30, 2024 we completed our remodel of the education wing and finished our move into the new facility. My plan is to bring several stones into the courtyard of the new church (Elevate Life) and stack them to commemorate “listening to God.”
It is my heart and prayer that the spiritual markers I set will indicate to others how to respond faithfully to God’s voice and will lead them to a closer discipleship journey.