Stacking Stones: Remembering God's Faithfulness
God is faithful. What does that mean? Authors Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley explain, “God’s faithfulness is His reliability in doing what He has promised.” In other words, we can count on God. Leadership is full of tough challenges and choices. In life and work filled with anxiety, disappointment, temptation, crisis, frustrations, hate, failure and adversity, we serve a God that we can rely on. It is God’s faithfulness that gives a Christ-centered leader confidence. But we are prone to forget without a reminder.
Long ago the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River and entered into God’s Promised Land. At the point where they crossed the river was in flood stage, a mile-wide raging current of water. As the people dipped their feet into the water, God stopped the flow, and they walked across on dry ground. Scripture records an interesting instruction from God in Joshua 4:2-3 at this point. God told Joshua, “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’” These stones were to serve as a monument to God’s faithfulness.
The stones came not from the shore, from the riverbed itself, where they had walked across on dry ground. Joshua said to the people of Israel, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over… He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God” (Joshua 4:21-24).
God had Joshua memorialize the crossing of the Jordan River with a stack of stones.
When we face difficulties and challenges in life and leadership, it’s important to remember God’s faithfulness. We can face what is ahead of us when we know Who is with us. Just as the people of Israel could look at the pile of memorial stones and be reminded of what God had done, we too can look at what God has done and be reminded that our trust in Him is not in vain. Remembering God’s faithfulness in our lives gives us confidence in our spiritual direction for leadership.
Remember what God promised. The Bible contains 8,810 promises God has made to His people.[1] God made promises to all of mankind, and to the nation of Israel, and to followers of Jesus. Consider ten promises of God that apply specifically to you:
God promises to strengthen you (Ephesians 3:14-16).
God promises to give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30).
God promises to take care of your needs (Philippians 4:19).
God promises to answer your prayers (Matthew 7:7).
God promises to work everything out for your good (Romans 8:28).
God promises to be with you (Joshua 1:5, 9).
God promises to protect you (Psalm 91:2).
God promises freedom from sin (1 john 1:9, John 8:36).
God promises that nothing can separate you from Him (Romans 8:38-39).
God promises everlasting life (John 3:16).[2]
No matter what valley you are walking through, or challenge you face, or agonizing decision that is before you, there is a promise of God that you can rely on to help you face the right direction and walk the best path forward.
Remember what God has done. Consider to that every promise of God has been fulfilled. God has never broken a promise. Joshua 21:45 says, “Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.” Again Joshua says in 23:14, “You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” The fact that God keeps His promises is His attribute of faithfulness. We all encounter people in our lives who will break their promises. This makes us skeptical in our trust of people and of God. But we can be sure of God’s promises because He has kept every one. Look again on the list of promises above, and realize that God has done everything He said He was going to do. That God keeps His promises is confirmed over and over in Scripture:
“The Lord said to me, ‘You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled’” (Jeremiah 1:12).
“The Lord has done what he planned; he has fulfilled his word, which he decreed long ago…” (Lamentations 2:17).
“Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord’” (Ezekiel 12:28).
“’I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled’” (Luke 1:38).
“Be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).[3]
Today the Bible provides a means by which to remember and rejoice in God’s faithfulness.
Remember what God is doing. Here is perhaps the best aspect of God’s faithfulness for today’s leader: to know that God is continuing to keep His promises. He is still at work in our lives and leadership and His fulfillment of His many promises is ongoing. Sometimes we’ll say that we are “claiming a promise of God.” This is a way of saying that because we know God is faithful to what He has done in the past, He will also remain faithful to those same promises now.
These words from Scripture are not ancient history, rather there are still being kept. They are our very own memorial stones. Just as the people of Israel passed by that stack of stones along the Jordan River and remembered what God had done, we too can open the Bible and be reminded of God’s promises, made and kept. When the people of Israel lacked faith, confidence, direction, or determination, the memorial stones were a reminder to them that they could trust in God. 2 Corinthians 1:20 reminds us, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” It is the Word of God, the Bible, that provides for us a memorial to God’s faithfulness—promises given, kept and ongoing.