Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites.
Joshua 8:30-31
For centuries, the Israelites had serious memory problems. God had performed miracle after miracle, from parting the Red Sea (Exodus 16:4) to the crumbling walls of Jericho (Joshua 6:8-20). But His people, the very ones He delivered from slavery in Egypt, were constantly forgetting. They forgot about how God faithfully provided for them. They forgot about the blessings of freedom, a homeland, and God’s presence. Instead, they focused on everything that was wrong, everything they lacked, because they took their eyes off of God and focused on themselves. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
God commanded His people to build altars to Him because He knew they would need reminders. He knew that when things got tough, His people would feel forgotten and abandoned, and they would forget all that was good. We can relate! It is remarkably easy to forget all that God has given, all that He has done, and all the times He has shown up big in the middle of our messes. Perhaps we need to build some altars of our own. Maybe we need reminders that when we focus on ourselves, we forget to count God’s endless blessings. Or maybe, we just need to stop the “poor me” stuff, the “everything sucks” attitudes, and turn our hearts and our minds to the kindness, goodness, generosity, and faithfulness of our amazing God.
If building an altar to God will help you remember His faithfulness, by all means…build! Or you could just make a list of 100 things for which you are truly grateful, big things and little things. Then prayerfully thank God for every single one. Gratitude reminds you of everything you DO have, rather than everything you don’t. It changes your heart from selfish to joyful, from bitter to hopeful. And when you finish your first 100, keep going! Because God’s blessings never end. You are deeply loved!
“Remembering with thanks is what causes us to trust - to really believe.”
~Ann Voskamp