Ebenezer

Text:

1 Samuel  7:12

Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it

Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.

   Many of us have heard or seen the story, The Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. Three ghosts visited Ebenezer Scrooge, but only one, the ghost of Christmas future took him to a place that changed his life forever, the graveyard. When they arrived, the apparition pointed to  a headstone marking the spot of the miser's doom. Realizing the fate of his future, Ebenezer changed his life forever.

Like Mr. Scrooge, we can become bitter, indifferent, and cold to the things of life and even to the work of God. We have been hurt, disappointed, used, and unable to let go. Left untreated it can consume us like a cancer, devouring and destroying before we realize what has happened. 

When the author of this classic novel penned the name Ebenezer Scrooge, his message was clear. Help. The name Ebenezer comes from a Hebrew word meaning, the stone of help or the LORD helped us. When life brings us to a point of bitterness and despair, let the Spirit of God guide us to the, Ebenezer or stone of help and allow Him to change our life forever.

The Emmaus Walk

Louis Edwards