“For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” — Psalm 16:10

The stone has been rolled into place. The body wrapped and laid to rest. The disciples have scattered — hiding behind locked doors, their hopes shattered like the temple veil. The women who followed Jesus have returned home to prepare spices and perfumes, their tears flowing as freely as the myrrh.

And then… silence.

Welcome to Easter Saturday — the forgotten day of Holy Week.

We rush from the drama of Good Friday to the triumph of Easter Sunday, often treating Saturday as merely the hyphen between crucifixion and resurrection. Yet this day of divine silence holds profound spiritual significance that speaks directly to our deepest human experiences.

The Silent Saturday

What must it have been like for those first followers of Jesus? Their Messiah — the one they believed would redeem Israel — now lay cold in a borrowed tomb. The authorities who executed him remained in power. The promises of a new kingdom seemed to have died with him.

No angels appeared with explanations. No divine voice spoke from heaven. No sign or wonder demonstrated that this tragedy was part of a greater plan. Just the deafening silence of unanswered prayers and unfulfilled hopes.

Sound familiar?

The Universal Saturday Space

All of us live through our own versions of Easter Saturday — those uncertain spaces between death and resurrection, between prayers offered and answers received, between promise given and promise fulfilled.

The medical diagnosis that leaves us waiting for treatment to begin. The relationship that has ended with no new beginning in sight. The career that collapsed without a clear path forward. The prayer that seems to have disappeared into heaven’s silence.

These are our Saturday spaces — the times when God seems absent, when answers aren’t forthcoming, when we’re caught in the uncomfortable void between what was and what will be.

What makes these spaces so difficult isn’t just the pain they contain, but the uncertainty they create. Friday’s pain is excruciating but definite. Sunday’s joy is exhilarating and conclusive. But Saturday? Saturday is undefined. Indeterminate. Liminal. Unfinished.

And it’s precisely in this unfinished space that faith is most purely faith.

And it’s precisely in this unfinished space that faith is most purely faith.

Divine Silence and Sacred Waiting

Easter Saturday reveals something profound about God’s character that we often overlook: His profound respect for process, for natural order, for the unfolding of time.

God could have raised Jesus immediately after death. He could have compressed the resurrection timeline, eliminating Saturday altogether. Yet He didn’t. The God who created time honored its passage, even in this most crucial moment in history.

God could have raised Jesus immediately after death. He could have compressed the resurrection timeline, eliminating Saturday altogether. Yet He didn’t.

The Psalmist understood something of this divine timing when he wrote: “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption” (Psalm 16:10). This wasn’t a promise of immediate rescue but of ultimate redemption. Not “you won’t let me enter death” but “you won’t leave me there forever.”

Saturday teaches us that God’s silence doesn’t equal His absence. His restraint doesn’t signify His abandonment. Sometimes the most powerful divine action happens beneath the surface, invisible to our eyes, during seasons when God seems most silent.

What They Forgot to Remember

Perhaps the most tragic aspect of that first Easter Saturday was that it need not have been characterized by complete despair. The disciples had been given reasons to hope — specific promises and prophecies that should have sustained them through Saturday’s silence:

Isaiah had prophesied: “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:11).

Hosea had declared: “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence” (Hosea 6:2).

Most explicitly, Jesus himself had repeatedly told his disciples: “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise” (Mark 9:31).

Yet in their grief and confusion, they forgot to remember. The promises were there, the prophecies had been spoken, but Saturday’s darkness obscured what should have been clearly recalled.

Yet in their grief and confusion, they forgot to remember.

How often do we find ourselves in the same position? God has demonstrated His faithfulness countless times in Scripture and in our own lives, yet when Saturday comes, we too forget to remember. Our spiritual amnesia turns temporary silence into seemingly permanent abandonment.

Christ in Saturday’s Silence

While the disciples hid in fear and the women prepared burial spices, what of Jesus himself? Here we enter sacred mystery — the experience of the incarnate Son during death’s interlude.

Traditional theology speaks of the “harrowing of hell,” Christ’s descent to proclaim release to captive spirits. Scripture gives us glimpses but no comprehensive explanation of Christ’s experience between cross and resurrection.

Yet we can contemplate this profound truth: the same Jesus who trustingly committed his spirit into the Father’s hands on Friday, despite his Psalm 22 cry of pain and separation from the Father, remained in perfect trust through Saturday’s silence. Even in death, his faith did not waver. Even in the tomb, his hope remained anchored. The One who is Truth personified held fast to truth when everything seemed lost.

Imagine, for a moment, Christ’s consciousness during this time — his gaze fixed not only on the Father’s promises but also reaching forward through time to you. Jesus knew you would have your own Saturdays. He knew the uncertainty you would face, the unanswered prayers that would trouble your heart, the silence that would test your faith.

His eyes, from this very Saturday, are fixed through time on your face now. They meet yours across the centuries, from his Saturday to yours, with a gaze that says: “I have been here too. I have faced despair and death that you might be freed from their bondage. I have sanctified this space between death and life. I love you — you are free.”

His trust amid cosmic uncertainty becomes our model. His faithfulness in divine silence becomes our strength. His perfect remembrance of the Father’s promises becomes our pathway through our own Saturdays.

Remembrance as Spiritual Resistance

What sustained Jesus through death itself? Scripture offers us a profound clue: remembrance. Even from the cross, Jesus quoted Scripture — “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” from Psalm 22, a psalm that begins in desolation but ends in deliverance.

What sustained Jesus through death itself? Scripture offers us a profound clue: remembrance.

Jesus practiced remembrance as spiritual resistance against despair. When everything in his experiential reality contradicted God’s goodness, he held fast to truth through active remembrance.

Jesus practiced remembrance as spiritual resistance against despair.

This is the forgotten spiritual discipline that Easter Saturday invites us to recover: remembrance not as passive nostalgia but as active resistance against despair.

This is the forgotten spiritual discipline that Easter Saturday invites us to recover: remembrance not as passive nostalgia but as active resistance against despair.

The Israelites understood this. In exile, they recounted God’s mighty deeds of the past. The Psalmists practiced it: “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old” (Psalm 77:11). Throughout Scripture, God’s people are called to remember — especially when present circumstances make God’s goodness difficult to discern.

Practicing Holy Remembrance

How might we practice this kind of remembrance during our own Saturday seasons?

1. Scripture as Memory Book

The Bible isn’t merely instructional — it’s memorial. It records God’s faithfulness through history, providing evidence that silent Saturdays have always eventually given way to resurrection Sundays.

During your Saturday seasons, immerse yourself in the testimonies of those who waited — Abraham for a son, Joseph in prison, David in the wilderness, the Israelites in exile. Their stories remind us that divine delays aren’t divine denials.

During your Saturday seasons, immerse yourself in the testimonies of those who waited…

2. Meditating on Christ’s Gaze

Perhaps the most powerful form of remembrance is contemplating Christ himself — fixing your mind’s eye on his face as he gazes at you from the Cross, and then the tomb.

Take time to sit in silence, imagining Jesus looking at you with perfect understanding and love. Those eyes meet yours with the certainty of Sunday’s coming triumph. It was all done for you. Let that earth-shattering truth sink deep into your heart.

This isn’t mere imagination but biblical meditation — allowing the truth of Christ’s experience to transform your perception of your own circumstances.

3. Creating Personal Memorials

The Israelites built stone altars to mark significant encounters with God — tangible reminders they could revisit when doubt assailed them. We too need concrete reminders of God’s faithfulness in our own histories.

Consider creating a “remembrance journal” or “Jar of Stones” (more on this amazingly simple and yet profound practice, here) where you document specific instances of God’s faithfulness in your life. In Saturday seasons, this becomes your personal memorial stone — evidence that the God who was faithful before will be faithful again.

This new Christian habit will change your life, forever.

The Living Stones app (coming soon) offers a digital space for this very purpose — allowing you to document and revisit moments of divine faithfulness, creating a reservoir of remembrance to draw from during Saturday’s silence.

Living Stones

Sunday Always Comes

As we sit in Easter Saturday’s uncomfortable silence, we do so with a perspective the first disciples lacked — we know Sunday is coming. We read their story with resurrection already assured.

As we sit in Easter Saturday’s uncomfortable silence, we do so with a perspective the first disciples lacked — we know Sunday is coming.

Yet in our own Saturday spaces, we often forget this fundamental Christian truth: Sunday always comes. Resurrection follows crucifixion. New life emerges from death. The stone rolls away. The silence breaks. The seemingly absent God appears in the garden, calling our names.

This Easter, perhaps we need to linger in Saturday a little longer — not rushing to Sunday prematurely, but allowing this sacred space of waiting to teach us the spiritual discipline of remembrance.

For it is often in Saturday’s silence, when we seem most abandoned, that we discover the sustaining power of remembering God’s faithfulness — and the comforting reality that Christ’s gaze, from his Saturday to ours, never wavers.

The tomb may be sealed, but hope is not extinguished. The silence may be deafening, but God’s promises still stand. Easter Saturday teaches us that even when God seems silent, His Word remains true.

And Sunday is always coming.

Want to explore more about practicing spiritual remembrance? Subscribe to the Living Stones blog for weekly insights on rediscovering ancient spiritual practices for modern life.

Ready to transform your spiritual journaling practice? Join the waiting list at livingstones.app to be notified when Living Stones launches, helping you and your community remember and celebrate God, together.

The Forgotten Day: Finding Hope in Easter Saturday’s Silence was originally published in Living Stones on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’” — 1 Samuel 7:12

Have you ever noticed how God seems to have a profound affinity for stones?

Throughout Scripture, stones mark moments of divine intervention and human remembrance. Jacob placed a stone pillar at Bethel after his ladder-to-heaven dream. Joshua commanded twelve stones be taken from the Jordan River as a memorial. Samuel erected an “Ebenezer” stone after God delivered Israel from the Philistines.

These stone memorials served as sacred anchors — physical reminders of God’s faithfulness that future generations could touch, see, and gather around. They stood as silent witnesses in the landscape, testifying: “Something holy happened here. Remember.”

But what if I told you that the most significant stone memorial in salvation history wasn’t built by human hands at all?

But what if I told you that the most significant stone memorial in salvation history wasn’t built by human hands at all?

The Divine Ebenezer

Early on that resurrection morning, as dawn broke over Jerusalem, something unprecedented occurred. The massive stone sealing Jesus’ tomb — the one meant to permanently entomb our hope — had been dramatically rolled away.

This wasn’t simply a practical matter of creating an exit. Jesus, who had just conquered death itself, hardly needed help removing obstacles. No, this stone was moved for us — to create a visible, tangible memorial that would echo through eternity.

In that moment, God Himself constructed the ultimate Ebenezer.

Samuel’s stone proclaimed, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” The empty tomb’s stone declared, “Forever the Lord has saved us.”

The symmetry is breathtaking. For centuries, God’s people had raised stones to commemorate divine faithfulness. Now, in the culmination of His redemptive plan, God moved a stone to commemorate His own faithfulness — creating a memorial that would transform not just a nation, but all of humanity.

The symmetry is breathtaking. For centuries, God’s people had raised stones to commemorate divine faithfulness. Now, in the culmination of His redemptive plan, God moved a stone to commemorate His own faithfulness — creating a memorial that would transform not just a nation, but all of humanity.

Our Hurried Exit from the Tomb

Here’s where our modern spiritual practice often falls short.

Most of us treat Easter like a beautiful but brief stop on our spiritual calendar. We celebrate the resurrection on Sunday morning, perhaps enjoy a special meal with loved ones, and by Monday, we’ve mentally moved on — rushing back to our busy routines, leaving that sacred stone memorial unattended in our spiritual consciousness.

Our spiritual ancestors would be puzzled by this approach. They understood that remembrance requires lingering, revisiting, and regularly returning to the memorial stones in their lives.

As I explored in “Hey Christian, We’ve Forgotten How to Remember”, we’ve lost touch with one of Christianity’s most foundational disciplines: holy remembrance. Our accelerated pace of life has eroded our ability to pause, reflect, and truly remember the mighty works of God.

Remembrance as Revolutionary Practice

In our productivity-obsessed culture, remembrance feels almost counter-cultural. We’re conditioned to constantly look forward, to chase the next achievement, to “move on” from the past.

But Scripture calls us to a different rhythm — one that regularly returns to the memorials of God’s faithfulness.

This is not mere nostalgia. Biblical remembrance is an active, transformative practice that reshapes our present by reconnecting us with God’s demonstrated character. When we truly remember what happened at that empty tomb, we don’t just recall historical facts — we reorient our entire lives around the reality that death has been defeated, sin has been conquered, and love has triumphed.

The empty tomb’s stone is meant to be visited not just annually, but daily in our spiritual imagination.

The empty tomb’s stone is meant to be visited not just annually, but daily in our spiritual imagination.

Practicing Tomb-Stone Remembrance

So how might we develop this revolutionary practice of remembrance centered on God’s own Ebenezer?

1. Create Daily Remembrance Rituals

The Israelites incorporated remembrance into their daily rhythms through prayer, sabbath observance, and festivals. We can similarly weave resurrection remembrance into our daily lives.

Begin your day with a simple prayer acknowledging that you live in the reality of the empty tomb and end your day by thanking God for specific ways His resurrection power was evident in your hours.

2. Establish Physical Reminders

Just as the Israelites used physical stones, consider creating tangible reminders of resurrection reality in your environment. This might be a small stone placed on your desk, a cross in your living space, or even a background image on your phone.

These physical anchors interrupt our forgetful rushing and call us back to remembrance.

3. Practice Communal Remembrance

Remembrance in Scripture was rarely solitary. The Ebenezer stones became community gathering places where God’s faithfulness was recounted and celebrated together.

As revealed in “This New Christian Habit Will Change Your Life Forever”, our spiritual growth flourishes when we incorporate intentional practices with others. Find ways to regularly share “stone stories” of resurrection hope with your faith community.

4. Journal Your Remembrances

There’s profound power in documenting the evidence of God’s faithfulness in your personal story. When you notice moments of divine intervention, unexpected provision, or spiritual breakthrough, record them as your own “stone memorials.”

Over time, this collection becomes a personal testimony of God’s ongoing faithfulness — a written Ebenezer you can revisit when doubts arise.

From Remembrance to Gratitude

Something remarkable happens when we cultivate this practice of holy remembrance: gratitude flows naturally.

Something remarkable happens when we cultivate this practice of holy remembrance: gratitude flows naturally.

The Israelites didn’t establish stone memorials out of obligation, but from overflowing thankfulness. Similarly, when we regularly return to the empty tomb in our spiritual imagination, gratitude becomes our natural response.

This isn’t the superficial gratitude of our “count your blessings” platitudes. This is a profound, transformative gratitude rooted in the ultimate reality that God has conquered death itself for us.

As I shared in “How God Gave Me Back My Son” , remembering God’s faithfulness in our darkest moments cultivates a gratitude that sustains us through any circumstance. Remembrance fuels this grateful resistance, anchoring us in God’s demonstrated faithfulness rather than our fluctuating circumstances.

A Modern Tool for Ancient Practice

In our digital age, we have unprecedented opportunities to practice remembrance in new ways. While the Israelites used physical stones, we can leverage technology to help us remember well.

This is precisely why the Living Stones app (coming soon) was developed — to help modern believers create digital “Ebenezers” that document and celebrate God’s faithfulness in their lives. The app facilitates spiritual journaling, community sharing of God’s work, and regular reminders to practice remembrance, along with powerful guided meditations which enable deeper exploration of the themes of God’s presence in your life.

Just as the Israelites returned to their stone memorials to remember God’s faithfulness, the Living Stones app creates space for you to document and revisit the evidences of God’s work in your life.

The Revolutionary Invitation

This Easter season, I invite you to linger longer at the tomb. To stare at that rolled-away stone — God’s own Ebenezer — and let its reality sink deeper into your consciousness.

What would change if we didn’t rush away from the empty tomb so quickly? If we made remembrance a central spiritual discipline?

What would change if we didn’t rush away from the empty tomb so quickly? If we made remembrance a central spiritual discipline?

Perhaps we’d discover what the Israelites knew: that remembering well is the foundation for living well. That regularly returning to the stone memorials of God’s faithfulness doesn’t keep us stuck in the past — it actually empowers us to move into the future with greater hope, deeper joy, and unshakable confidence.

After all, when God built His own Ebenezer, He didn’t intend it to be visited just once a year. He created an eternal monument to which we’re invited to return again and again, discovering new depths of its meaning with each visit.

This is the revolutionary spiritual practice we’ve forgotten — and it’s time to remember it again.

Want to explore more about practicing spiritual remembrance? Subscribe to the Living Stones blog for weekly insights on rediscovering ancient spiritual practices for modern life.

Ready to transform your life through building a communal practice of remembrance? Join the waiting list at livingstones.app to be notified when the app launches, helping you document and celebrate God’s movement in your life.

When God Built His Own Ebenezer: The Easter Stone That Revolutionized Remembrance was originally published in Living Stones on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I’m at my desk beginning to type words that, frankly, I have been running from for years now. You see in December of 2022, my son Breck (2 weeks old at the time) was hospitalized and put on a ventilator and it looked liked we would likely lose him forever. I’ve known for a long time now that I had a responsibility to record and share his story, but that doesn’t make revisiting this period of my life any easier. These were days and nights when my only food were my tears (Psalm 42), when my body and mind grew weaker than I thought possible, and when time seemed to drip like slow, thick IV fluid from the clock in the corner of our pale, cold and sterile room in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

I’ve run from these words for long enough and it’s finally time to record what were the most heart-wrenching and yet miraculously life-changing 2 weeks of my life.

From bad to worse

In December of 2022 my son Breck got sick. His big sisters (5 and 2 at the time) loved him with all their hearts, and despite our best attempts, my wife and I were not able protect him from their loving, virus infested little hands and lips. So, like many third children, he got sick shortly after he arrived. Unlike most newborns though, he stayed sick. Right when bug #1 seemed to be on its way out, he caught bug #2, and then bug #3, and this is when things started to take a turn. I’ll never forget the text from my wife that said something to the effect of “His breathing is borderline. An ambulance is coming to the Pediatrician’s office to take him to the hospital. It’s not safe for me to drive him, he needs to be monitored in transit.”

I’ll never forget the text from my wife that said something to the effect of “His breathing is borderline. An ambulance is coming to the Pediatrician’s office to take him to the hospital. It’s not safe for me to drive him, he needs to be monitored in transit.”

Quickly getting his big sisters set up with the grandparents, I rushed to the hospital. To make a long story short, he continued to decline in the ER triage room until he began “holding his breath” for a minute at a time. Doctors and nurses began rushing in and before I knew it, he was being rushed back to an operation room for an emergency intubation. My world spun. My stomach was in knots. My vision blurred. Everything was happening too fast. The picture at the top of this section was taken shortly before he was rushed out of the room. It’s a beautiful and melancholy picture — our little newborn looking my wife Heidi square in the eyes, with a sort of “it’s going to be OK mom” look in his eyes. We’ve reflect on this picture and that moment a lot.

As we now waited outside the PICU for what felt like forever, we sat there wordless, weeping, unsure if we would ever see our brand-new son again. He was in bad shape. It was unclear if he would survive the intubation. It was precisely in this moment of our deepest despair when God began speaking to us, and he would continue to speak to us daily and loudly, until Breck eventually came home a few weeks later.

As I sat next to my wife who was at this time being comforted by her older sister, I had my hands over my eyes, head resting on my now tear-soaked pants, staring through shut eyes into an unending well of darkness. It was then that I heard Jesus’ voice, almost audibly, say something to this effect: “John. Lift your head. Lift your eyes. I am the light. I am here. It’s OK. I have your son in my hands.”

As I lifted my head off my damp legs (puffy red eyes still sealed shut with hot, sticky tears) my vision was immediately bathed in an almost blinding brightness, and looking back at me amidst this radiance was the face of Jesus. Whether the hospital fluorescence, a divine light from Heaven, or both, I got the picture clear enough. To this day I cannot describe the peace I felt in that moment. I was still scared, in shock and fighting despair every second, but somehow at the same time the Lord filled me with his peace which totally surpassed my understanding (Philippians 4:7). He was there with me almost physically in that hospital waiting room. I’ve never felt him as closely as I did in that space — again, it’s hard to describe with words.

It was then that I heard Jesus’ voice, almost audibly, say something to this effect: “John. Lift your head. Lift your eyes. I am the light. I am here. It’s OK. I have your son in my hands.”

Staring into uncertainty

The Doctor came out and let us know that while the procedure had plenty of ups and downs and there were some close calls, they managed to get him on the ventilator and he was in the room ready for us to go back and see him. I’ve tried to forget the picture that followed (shown above) as we entered the room — my tiny, helpless, brand new son hooked up to all those wires and machinery. The sounds, the smell of sterile metal, the mechanical up and down movement of his chest. All of it, awful. But God began to move again, when the nurse walked in. “Wait a second…we recognize this woman” my wife and I thought, and before we could say anything she introduced herself and mentioned that she attended our church, and recognized me from the worship team. I began weeping. Here again, God was showing us that He was right there with us — blessing us by sending a member of our church family to minister and care for us and our son, and this was just the beginning of the flood of miracles that would soon follow.

Signs and Wonders

I knew then, even before Breck’s trajectory started looking hopeful, that I needed to record what God was doing. I didn’t know how his story would end, but God was very clearly working, and I wanted to remember every moment— come what may. I created a Notes entry on my iPhone and began to record a myriad of hastily written notes documenting this saga. Enough time has passed that I can no longer walk you through each day, but instead I’d like share each of these incredible moments I recorded below, with some additional context, grouped into some of the major categories that emerged.

Music

As a musician, (unsurprisingly) music has always been a major way God has always spoken to me. During this season, God continually used music in a very personal way to encourage and uplift our family.

• The worship pastor for our church sent me a message one day, telling me that he was playing one of my favorite songs at church in honor of my son, as the Lord had put the song on his heart — the song was
  “House of God Forever” by Jon Foreman. This in and of itself was very touching, but right after he sent this to me Breck’s new doctor walked through the door and was a dead ringer for Jon Foreman (the artist who wrote this song). I’m not kidding — the resemblance was uncanny. Heidi and I couldn't help but chuckle at this — God knew we needed some humor during this time.
• My wife and I received another message from a dear friend who told us that the Lord had put the song “God, Turn it Around” by Jon Reddick on her heart to share with us. This song became our anthem, and to this day it is hard to listen to as I am taken back to those mornings and evenings driving to and from the hospital, weeping-singing this song a the top of my lungs as a plea to God.
• Breck was in the hospital right after Christmas, and as a result the hospital was still very much in “Christmas Mode” while we were there. One night as I walked through the lobby on the way to my car, feeling totally overwhelmed by the noise and chaos of the day, the song “Silent Night” began to play, seemingly starting the moment I stepped foot in the lobby, as though the automated piano in the corner was waiting for me to enter the room to begin the song. Again, I wept. I could feel, so palpably, God telling me that he had our family in his arms, and that this would be a night of peaceful rest for my son, myself, Heidi and my girls — “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright…sleep in heavenly peace”. The next day my wife told me that it was a particularly good night of rest for Breck.

Visions

My wife and I are not people who regularly receive visions from God. It has happened, but with infrequency. Here I use the word “vision” to describe any kind of direct communication from God — words or images seemingly implanted in the mind, a moment of divine clarity, and so on. I’ve already shared with you above how Jesus spoke to me, but here are a few other visions we received during this time.

• For both of us, our immediate disposition towards God was along the lines of “God. You cannot take our son from us. He is a beautiful, innocent, brand new little boy, and as a good God you must protect him.” But at one point, as things were looking worse for Breck, Heidi received a vision of Jesus holding Breck in his hands, and in a moment of painful surrender in response to this vision she told God that if it was his perfect will that Breck should come back home to Heaven so soon, that she would accept it. She wouldn’t understand, but she would trust God and cherish all the remaining time she has with her kids, as long as that may be. It was almost immediately after this prayer that Breck began to miraculously improve.
• One late afternoon, sitting across from Breck as Heidi napped in the corner, I looked up from reading scripture over at my wife and was startled as she completely bathed in warm, golden light. Words do not do this moment justice, but it was as though every inch of sunlight in the room was being drawn in towards her, wrapping her in a sort of cocooned hug of yellow light. It was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen, supernatural in spite of its ordinariness, and I heard the Lord telling me “I have Heidi in my hands. Everything will all be alright.”

Scripture

Heidi and I have never spent more time in The Word, and God was talking to us constantly.

• Reflecting on how Jesus had shown his face to Heidi and I during this time, filling us with hope in spite of our circumstances, I was reminded by a number of “happenstance” occurrences how Christ looked despair dead in the eye in the Garden of Gethsemane, so that I could look HIM dead in the eye, and instead of seeing Despair, see only Him, and Hope. His courageous gaze into the pit of Hell is what allowed me to gaze into His face, the Prince of Heaven. This was a theme he was continually pushing during this time, and was a new insight into this scene in the Garden.
• The story of Jairus (Mark 5) was one that was heavy on my heart and that in one particular quiet time I felt particularly compelled to dig into. (Jairus asked Jesus to heal his daughter, but they were too late and she had passed. Jesus then proceeds to raise her from the dead!). After reading this scripture and continuing to feel compelled to dig in further, I asked God “Ok Lord…what are you trying to tell me here?” It was at this exact moment that Breck had a massive, scary heart-deceleration episode, and recovered shortly thereafter. I felt God telling me “I have Breck in my hands just like Jairus’ daughter, and I will take care of him no matter what you see happen to him. I am bigger than your circumstances.”
• My grandmother texted me out of the blue, telling me that God had put John 4 on her heart to share with us, which is where Jesus tells the official “Go…your son will live.”

“…I am bigger than your circumstances”

Prayer

Oh man. These are some of my favorite moments from this entire period. God loves it when we pray, and like any good Father delights in answering our prayers. Check these out.

• As things were starting to looking worse, I texted our Pastor and asked that he come to the hospital to anoint Breck with oil and pray over him in the name of the Lord (James 5). He agreed, and as he was on his way he was praying and asking God to reveal an elder from our church that could accompany him (as outlined in the scripture). As our pastor concluded his prayer and walked into a Starbucks to grab a coffee, he immediately laid eyes on one of our church’s elders! He walked up to the elder and asked if he would accompany him to the hospital right then and there, and he agreed. Now get this…this elder was the man who owned our house in the past (whom we had never met), and his daughter had been admitted into the ICU in the same condition as Breck, when she was his age, and her room was now Breck’s room! How incredible is that?!
• There was one night where Heidi and I were particularly scared. Breck could not settle down — he was fighting the anesthesia more and more which was critically important, as any small movements caused him to suffer a nerve reaction that led his heart rate plummeting. We were at a point where the medical counsel we were receiving was to use a paralytic on him to literally paralyze his body — it would keep him still, but at a cost. He was just so little, the idea of pumping a paralyzing agent into his little body still to this day causes shivers to go down my spine. As we had done many times throughout our stay in the hospital, we sent out the bat-signal, asking everyone in our community to pray specifically that his body would miraculously calm, such that we wouldn't need to use the paralytic. And you know what? It did. Moments later we get a text from Heidi’s women’s group saying that they had just finished praying for Breck, and at that moment his little frame stopped wiggling, and he entered into a restful state that he remained in for the remainder of his time on the ventilator. It was an absolute miracle.
• Fast forwarding a bit, we are home from the Hospital, but Breck is suffering from crazy medicinal withdrawals, deeply uncomfortable and unable to sleep. I was away for the moment and I get a text from Heidi, asking me to pray for him. I prayed something along the lines of “God, would you please help Breck to become comfortable”, but in that moment felt the Spirit prompting me to pray bigger. So I prayed, “In Jesus name I pray that Breck would fall asleep, at this instant.” I finished the prayer and get a text from Heidi, seconds later. Breck had stopped struggling, and immediately fell asleep. He remained asleep that night and had his first deep, restful sleep since he came home. Another miracle.
• There is a part B to the last one. Later that night, during a shower, I was praying out loud, thanking God how he answered this prayer and worked this miracle and in that moment the shower head suddenly, and violently broke from the wall and fell to the ground. Its hard to describe it now, but in that moment I had that clarity that the Holy Spirit sometimes provides, and I knew that this was the Enemy trying to shake me up, as he was furious at how the faith of my household was growing, despite his best efforts to waylay us. I then prayed in Jesus name that any demons would be eradicated from my presence and my home, and I felt a calm enter the room immediately after.

David and Goliath

Throughout this saga, the story of David and Goliath was at the forefront of our minds. Breck’s middle name was “David”, a tribute to his grandfather as well as King David, and in this instance our little guy was quite literally battling with a giant, unable to defeat it with his own strength, but more than capable with the Lord’s help. The following bullets reference specific moments where God reminded us of this story and how it mirrored what He was doing for our little Breck David.

• The first bible story we ever read to Breck was the story of David and Goliath, and Heidi actually has a video on her phone of me reading it to Breck and my daughters. The video begins with me reading “This battle was the Lord’s” and ends with “…and all the people cheered.”
• Our dearest friends messaged us that their daughter’s daily devotional was the story of David and Goliath and that they felt compelled to share this with us. They had no idea that this had become a very important theme for Breck’s battle. The family prayer for that day was “Dear God, thank you for helping us face scary things. We can be brave when we remember You are always with us. Amen.”
• My mother-in-law went home to pick up a book from her house for Heidi and I to read to Breck, as hearing our voices soothed him. She reached into the kids’ section of her library and grabbed a random book, not looking at the title or cover, and it turned out to be the story of David and Goliath. (The actual book is pictured above)

Scriptures

The following are scriptures that were given to us by others or placed on our hearts by the Spirit.

“Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him; the Lord protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.” — Psalm 41:1–3 ESV

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” — John 3:16

“This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent — Jesus Christ.” — John 17:3

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” — 2 Corinthians 12:9–10 ESV

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” — Romans 15:13 ESV

“Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.” — John 4:50 ESV

“I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” — Psalm 30:1–12 ESV

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” — James 5:13–15 ESV

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” — Isaiah 41:10 NIV

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”” — Joshua 1:9 ESV

Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. — Isaiah 40:27–31

“He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” — Isaiah 40:11 ESV

“Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.” — Psalm 28:6–9

“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.” — 1 Samuel 1:27

Closing

Breck will be two this winter, and is without question the happiest, most fun, loving and easy going little boy I’ve met. He has endured no long term health issues from this battle, but you know what long term effect has endured? Faith. An increase of faith in our family like I cannot begin to describe.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” — James 1:2–4

To be honest, before this experience that verse in James made no sense to me, but now the Truth of this verse is so plain and obvious. Not only has the faith of our family grown, but our relationship with Jesus is just fundamentally different. It’s so much more personal and relational. My relationship with Breck is different. When he sits in my lap during story time at night I inevitably end up wrapping my arms around him, kissing his head relentlessly and muttering “Thank you, Jesus” over and over again. I feel a gratefulness for the most mundane moments with him that I can attribute this experience to. The same goes for my girls — I now value every little moment with them, every new sunrise and new day I get to share with them.

I could fill a book with the lessons we have learned from this time, but I’ll go ahead and put the proverbial pen down now. I hope and pray this article has provided you some degree of hope or encouragement, and I’ll end this article the same way I now end those bed-times with Breck:

Thank you, Jesus.

📬 Do you have a powerful story of God showing up and moving in your life that you would like to share with others? Shoot me an email at youarelivingstones@gmail.com and we can talk about getting it onto the blog!

⭐️ Oh, one more thing…If you’d be interested in an app I am building to make it easier to record, share and respond to God’s presence in your life, then click on the link below to learn more about Living Stones.👇

Living Stones

🙏God bless,

John

How God gave me back my son was originally published in Living Stones on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Coming up is a step-by-step guide for a transforming your spiritual health, but naturally before I can show you a solution, I need to first convince you that…you, and me, and well, everyone we know, has a problem. A pretty big one. Here’s the root of our collective problem:

We spend a disproportionate amount of time not considering all the ways God has moved, is moving, and will continue to move in our lives.

Life is busy, and getting busier. Social media algorithms and constant push notifications force us into a space of continual coveting of other’s lives, families, bodies, and bank accounts. Images of un-real, photoshopped, half-naked men and women are forced into our field of view every minute. The world seems to grow darker by the day due to the 24/7, fear-based internet news cycle. Life. Is. Hard. Living in Joy. Is Hard. We need help.

We spend a disproportionate amount of time not considering all the ways God has moved, is moving, and will continue to move in our lives.

Oh, and to make things worse, it seems that biologically our brains are hardwired to more easily recall the bad/painful/fear-inducing memories, more-so so than the joy-producing ones. This isn’t my opinion, either — do a quick Google Search and you will see countless articles describing this unfortunate reality.

The effects of what I am describing are visible at a global scale. Consider the rising rates of anxiety and depression, depicted below:

The Bible is well aware of this challenge, and outlines this issue in great detail; much of the Old Testament is dedicated to showcasing how Yaweh instructs his people to combat this despair/fear, much of which is rooted in humanity’s perpetual inability to properly remember/recall God’s goodness.

I cover specifically what the Bible has to say on this topic in great detail in the article I am linking below — if this topic interests you, I’d recommend checking it out!

Hey Christian: we’ve forgotten how to Remember

Ok, enough bad news. The good news is that the solution is really, really simple. Time to get practical — let’s go.

Hope, one index card at a time.

How do we combat this distraction, fear and despair? Simple — we focus on the one unchanging, immovable source of Joy in our life: God, with a capital “G”. It’s surprisingly simple, too (only two steps!). Following the blueprint laid out in the Bible, the first step is to record the moments when they happen, and the second is to reflect on them regularly.

Step One: Record

For the early followers of Yaweh, when God moved powerfully in their midst their response was often to stop, deeply consider what just occurred, and then mark the spot with an altar or something as simple as a large stack of stones. This was a highly purposeful action, as it forced them to reflect on all that just occurred AND create a physical mile-marker for all bystanders to reflect on in the future.

Our first step is the same as theirs, albeit a bit simpler (no rocks required).

The first thing you need is a stack of index cards. Pictured above is my typical card format — I decided to make things simpler on future-self by creating a standard set of fields that I would fill out each time.

This step is as simple as it sounds. When you encounter God’s presence in your life, write it down on the index card. Are you super verbose? Type it up in Word/Google Docs and print it out, instead! The idea is to simply record it, as soon as it occurs, so that you have as much detail as possible — and again, you will realize details you didn’t first notice when you start writing/typing.

Some examples of the “categories” of God Moments you should be on the lookout for:

• A promise from God
• A gift from God
• A blessing
• A healing
• An answered prayer
• A miracle
• A hedge of protection (1 Samuel 7:12–17)
• A word from God
• A vision from God

I would encourage you to do this for any God Moment, no matter how small. If you do this you will begin to realize that God is constantly moving, and it is often a collection of small whispers that can add up to a mighty movement.

Now I want you to take this index card/slip of paper, and fold it up, and put in a jar/some kind of (ideally see-through) container. I personally prefer see-through containers, like a glass mason jar, as you can see the slips of paper pile up over time! We will call this the Collection Jar.

If you do this you will begin to realize that God is constantly moving, and it is often a collection of small whispers that can add up to a mighty movement.

Here’s the real kicker. You ready? If you are able to, don’t do this alone. If you live with others, whether roommates or your family, have them do this with you. One Collection Jar for the household. If you live alone, invite your closest friends/family to join you. When God moves, share the moment on your group thread so that everyone can create a card for their jars, as well. Not only will this quickly grow your field of view for God’s movement in your community, but doing something in a group bakes in accountability, and having accountability is the #1 way to ensure that you stick with your new resolutions/habits.

Ok, we’ve recorded what God is up to within our life and the lives of our community members, and now it is time to move onto step two: Reflecting on these moments.

Step Two: Reflect

This step is similarly simple — once a week, preferably on a Sunday (marks the end of the current week, more time for discussion during meals, etc.) carve out time to sit down as a group (this can even be done with others over video chat if you live alone), pull a card out of the Collection Jar, read it aloud and discuss it as a group. Keep this time relatively open, as you never know where the conversation might go. One moment might bring to mind a particular verse you want to meditate on, it might spur a time of prayer, or cause someone else to recount a moment in their own life that they are reminded of.

Do this for each slip of paper, putting them in a second jar once complete. I recommend one that is larger than the Collection Jar, as this will hold all of your collected moments over time! I call this the Reflection Jar. Keep both these jars in a highly visible spot in your home — we often have them on our dining table, right in the center. The Reflection Jar will grow over time as the weeks pass, and periodically I recommend you go back into this jar, pull a slip out and go through a similar exercise of meditation. The more time that passes the more special these moments become. You’ll have lots of “Oh wow! I totally forgot about that!”. You could even have a jar for each year and label is as such, or you could take the index cards and at the end of the year transfer them to a journal/binder/scrap book.

One thing I definitely recommend doing with the Reflection Jar is making a tradition each year of opening the jar and going through all the moments together. This makes an amazing way to reflect on the previous year with gratitude and propels you forward into the new year with a tank full of of hope and joy.

One of the things I LOVE about this practice isn’t only the restorative effect it will have on your own spirit, but the fact that you are creating a timeline of God’s presence in your family/community that can be shared with generations to come. Can you imagine getting handed a book from your Mother that contains a lifetime of God Moments from her parents, and their parents, and so on? Incredible. Talk about a legacy.

The last step

Ok, I lied. There’s actually one more step.

Get started!

Don’t over complicate this. Grab some jars and strips of paper and right after you finish reading this article (you’re almost done) reflect on the last week and record a few God Moments for your Collection Jar.

Ok, let’s recap and I’ll share a final truth with you.

Recap

We have a problem. Every day we battle distraction and give into fear, anxiety, and despair. It’s a big problem, one of the biggest we have, and yet most of us don’t address it like we address other smaller issues in our life, like our bad diets or poor sleep habits.

There is a solution, and it’s one the Bible talks about a lot. The solution is building a muscle that is new for a lot of us — our “God Memory”. And it IS a muscle — it takes exercising it to make it stronger, and you will get better at it over time.

The best and simplest way to build this Memory is to follow the steps above, recording and reflecting on God’s presence in your life. Do it often. Do it in community. Build the muscle.

One final word

Let me share with you something I’ve discovered first hand, which totally took my by surprise:

The more you look for God, the more you will find Him.

It’s the most powerful outcome this process produces, and pays HUGE dividends in your life. You will start to see Him everywhere, because subconsciously your mind and spirit will be looking for Him.

The more you look for God, the more you will find Him.

Thanks for staying with me.

I hope this habit changes your life like it had changed mine.

If you want to learn about an app we are building to do everything I just talked about, in a more immersive, efficient and portable way, head over to LivingStones.app, or click the link below!

Living Stones

I hope you liked it, and if you did like it, feel free to give it a little motivational clap-clap (yes, you can clap multiple times if you like). Also make sure to Follow the Living Stones publication (this one!) on Medium to not miss another post! ❤

This new Christian habit will change your life, forever. was originally published in Living Stones on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Actually, this title is a bit too generous, as a precondition for “forgetting” something is to have known it previously. With this in mind, a more accurate title would have probably been:

Hey Christian: we never learned to remember, in the first place.

This isn’t any average sort of remembrance I am referring to, either. I’m not talking about remembering your spouse’s favorite color, or what you ate for dinner last night…I am referring to “Remembrance” (with a capital ‘R’)— remembering God; who He is , what He is, and where and how He has moved in your life.

The early followers of Yahweh faced many of the same human challenges that we do today with distractions, idols and sin, but a core difference (as it relates to Remembrance, at least), was that they had very direct instruction from God/His prophets to both construct physical reminders of God’s presence in their lives (in the form of large piles of stones), as well as repeated communal instruction from their socio-political leaders to remember what God had done for them. (Interestingly enough 70% of all 253 occurrences of the word “remember” in the bible can be found in the Old Testament.) Early followers of Yaweh also had daily, weekly, monthly and annual rituals (like Passover) that forced them into a space of communal remembrance.

Fast forward to today and these stone memorials have long since toppled, these commandments to remember and reflect on God’s provision in the wilderness are often glossed over, and we also have social media, the internet and non-stop, in your face distraction to contend with. How are we to Remember the Lord considering all these modern hindrances we now have to contend with? Feels a bit hopeless, doesn’t it?

Yeah, it really does.

But then as Christians we remember that the same God who formed galaxies dwells within us, and that “with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

So, before we get to work on this topic (and we have some work to do, by the way), I think it’s important to pause and answer the question “OK, so what? Why is Remembrance (with a capital ‘R’) worth fussing over?” I’ll let a personal story begin my attempt to answer to this question.

A quick note on Jesus and the New Testament

Before we dive in I want to preemptively draw attention to the Elephant in the room: I’m not going to talk about the New Testament, or even Jesus, very much in this article. Gasp! This is NOT because Jesus, or the NT writers didn’t care about Remembrance. They cared a great deal about it, in fact. See Luke 22:19, John 14:26, Luke 1:69–73, John 12:16, Revelation 3:3, and so on. The reason I am focusing so specifically on the OT, and even more specifically on Moses, is because this was a major theme for the Israelites, and for whatever reason God felt it was especially important that His early people focus on this discipline, above many others. Remember, Jesus came to fulfill the law and prophets (Matthew 5:17–20), so all this OT scripture we are going to dig into is fulfilled and even more fully realized in Christ. The OT holds a particularly powerful model for us to follow, which is what I am really focused on exploring in this article. Ok, enough disclaimer — I was about to explain why Remembrance (Capital ‘R’) matters, at all.

So what?

It’s 10PM at night, and I’m sitting on the couch fuming. The baby monitor is next to me and I’m grinding my teeth in frustration. Every 15 minutes for the last hour and a half my young daughters (ages 5 and 2) scream bloody murder, get in a fight with each other, storm downstairs demanding to see Mommy (sometimes Daddy…but normally Mommy), after which I forcefully lift them up, carry them up to their room, explain why we need them to stay in their beds, and then come back downstairs and attempt to salvage the now seemingly ruined 1:1 time with my wife. She gives me a lot of grace, but as she watches my temper rise to dangerous levels, she finally speaks up:

“Why are you so mad?”

I start to grunt out anger-sounds that barely resemble human words, trying to explain how frustrating the constant interruption is, how I deserve this rest after a long day of work and parenting…but then the strangest thing happens: I’m suddenly sitting across the couch from myself, sitting next to my wife, listening to me speak, and this other-me can’t help but shake his head at how backwards my argument is. It’s not that my circumstances weren’t frustrating — they were, and most people would be irritated, too. But I wasn’t just irritated. I was furious.

Why?

After a few more minutes of introspection the truth hits me with surprising force. I was so consumed in what was wrong with my evening that I was spending 0% of my mental/emotional energy reflecting on what was so, so right. Here I am in the United States, pouting on my expensive couch in my large, comfortable home complete with electricity, air conditioning, heating, clean water, a fridge so overflowing of food that we won’t even be able to eat all of it before it spoils, watching television as my two beautiful, healthy God-given little girls complain about how they can’t go to sleep yet because they want to spend time with their mom and dad.

I was so consumed with what was wrong with my evening that I was spending 0% of my mental/emotional energy reflecting on what was so, so right.

The saddest part of this story is that as much as I wanted to behave differently the next evening…I still found the same struggle waiting for me.

WHY?!

I’d like to re-propose this truth…a truth that I have become so convicted by that I am spending all of my free time, energy and money building an app/company designed to expose and correct (more on the app at the end of the article):

We never learned how to remember, in the first place.

The “butterfly effect” of forgetfulness

Have you heard of the “butterfly effect”? It’s the idea that through a slow, gradual domino-effect of one thing leading to another, a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world will lead to a typhoon in another part of the word. In some ways I see this same “chain of worsening effects” when I analyze how forgetfulness impacts our lives. Let’s start with the butterfly flapping its wings, and see what kind of typhoon forgetfulness ultimately creates.

If we don’t Remember, we don’t trust God.

Have you had any big, scary moments in your life recently? For my family it was the hospitalization and near-death of my one month old son. He ended up getting put on a ventilator for 2 weeks (more on Breck’s story here), and at multiple points we thought we were going to lose him. My immediate, natural human response was to doubt God amidst my fear. In the dread of the moment all I saw were oxygen and vital stats worsening, doctors and nurses running in and out with a heart-dropping hurry, and a big question mark hanging over our heads as to whether or not we would see our infant son again. Like a shadow, doubt filled every crevice of my heart and mind. Now, this is a very natural human reaction to deep suffering, but it took me a while to get to the place I really wanted to be at: trusting God, despite my circumstances, because of His promises and repeated historical demonstrations of how He has walked with my family. When we start from a place of Remembrance, trust in God will be the outflow, even if it comes slowly and painfully at first (I should mention this is in no way a critique on mourning in times of pain — Jesus himself was a “man of sorrows” and is with us in our grief.)

If we don’t trust God, we don’t live in hope.

If we do not place our trust in God, where do we place it? In ourselves? Our abilities? Our circumstance? Our bank accounts? The world around us? It’s all sinking sand. Placing our trust in any of these areas ultimately leads to fear, despair, and failing to place our hope in God.

“If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So will the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.” (Deuteronomy 7:17–19)

If we don’t hope in God, we don’t put others first

Someone living in despair does not spend their time thinking about others. Hopelessness naturally turns us inward, until we have become completely self-absorbed. This is the beauty of the Gospel — it frees us from the burden of all this destructive self-obsession, and allows us to trust God to care for us while we in turn care for those around us.

If we don’t put others first, we can’t show others the God’s goodness

Now we begin to see the true danger of living a life void of Remembrance. Our witness is fundamentally damaged. This gets to the root of the question, “what makes a Christian different?”. We are different because through the assurance we have in our salvation and the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to live amidst a drifting world, tethered to Truth, which is fundamentally attractive to the human spirit (this doesn’t mean people will not fight against you — they will!)

If we don’t show other’s God’s goodness, we will not prepare the next generation

Time and time again throughout scripture God makes it clear how much he cares about family, legacy and generational faithfulness. There is very little any of us can do on this earth that is more impactful than ministering to our children, and our community, showing them God’s love and preparing them to live firmly rooted, radiant lives.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4–9)

As you can see, this concept of “generational faithfulness” is incredibly close to God’s heart, and as you read through the Bible you will quickly see that it is central to God’s plan for world-wide restoration.

Ok, ok, ok…so it is clear forgetfulness creates a lot of problems, but we still haven’t addressed how to actually overcome this. Thankfully, we’ve got a lot of biblical direction here.

Learning to Remember

Before we dive in here, I want to remind you that this isn’t a new problem. The books of Exodus and Deuteronomy are particularly enlightening, as we see God’s chosen people literally walking through parted seas, drinking water from rocks, eating bread and meat that rains from heaven, and still consistently doubting God and turning away from Him. It’s easy to look at them and think we modern humans are some how more developed than these primitive early followers of Yahweh, but the reality is we have the same broken hearts and fractured minds within us.

I want to turn specifically to the book of Deuteronomy as we look at how God through Moses instructs the Chosen people to fight forgetfulness.

Here are what I believe to be the 4 key points of instruction from Deuteronomy that if followed, can lead to a life of remembrance:

1. Living in Obedience

“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and statues…” (Deuteronomy 8: 11)

I had to do a double take when I read this. Read it closely, again, and look at the word order:

“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God BY NOT keeping his commandments and his rules and statutes…” (my emphasis)

The idea here (in my opinion) is that by not obeying God we risk forgetting Him.

What?

This is the opposite of how I assumed things worked — I would think that when we forget God THEN we would forget His commandments, but here God is saying that IF we stop obeying his commandments, THEN we will forget Him.

As strange as this might seem at first, it becomes increasingly clear the more you reflect on why God wants us to obey his commandments, in the first place. Think on the 10 commandments (which were referenced a few verses prior in Deuteronomy) — why did God go out of his way to give us these list of rules? In short, it was because He knew we needed a lot of help remaining in right relationship with Him and with each other. The Shalom of God, the peace of God that he desires to exist between men and with God is impossible to achieve if we are not living in harmony with Him.

The Shalom of God, the peace of God that he desires to exist between men and with God is impossible to achieve if we are not living in harmony with Him.

Alternatively, through obedience to God and His commandments we are enabled to live in close communion with Him and those around us, and it is through this proximity to God that we are better able to consistently recall His goodness and mercies.

(Let me be clear — in no way am I saying that we need to live a life of good works to have God’s mercy. Through Christ we are saved from our sin regardless of our works. What I am saying is that even after we become Christians we still have the ability to disobey God, and in doing so make it harder to live in close community with those around us and to discern His still, small voice.)

2. Recording and reflecting before, during and after our trials

Deuteronomy 6 begins with with an emphasis on what is God’s greatest commandment — “to love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might”, but interestingly enough the entire rest of the chapter is Moses simply telling the Israelites to not forget this truth/commandment. In fact, if you read closely you can see that Moses is actually saying something much more extreme than simply “don’t forget”.

“Don’t forget” is a seemingly passive phrase — it’s like saying “don’t loose your keys”. Most of us do not actively choose to loose our keys, it just happens. The same can be said of forgetfulness — we just happen to forget things, seemingly on accident. None of us “choose to forget”…right?

Moses would disagree.

To me this is one of the most enlightening parts of this entire passage, and it has completely changed how I view “remembrance” all together.

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:6–9)

Does that sound passive to you? Nope. Moses is calling for extreme intentionality on the part of the Israelites. He is calling for them to make the act of Remembrance a daily rhythm, akin to brushing teeth, or eating lunch.

Not only is Moses calling the Israelites to extreme intentionality, but he is also calling them to get ready to remember the amazing things that God will do, that haven’t even happened yet! He is calling them to prepare to remember.

He is calling them to prepare to remember.

“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers…then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Deuteronomy 6:10–12)

Once more, this time with my emphasis.

“AND WHEN the Lord your God BRINGS you into the land that he swore to your fathers…THEN take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Deuteronomy 6:10–12)

The Israelites haven’t made it to the Promised land, yet. They are still on the other side of God’s provision in many ways. They are in the wilderness, with miles of harsh land, fast moving waters and hostile clans between them and this promised blessing.

Zooming out now, we can see a simply but profound truth that (I hope) is now glaringly obvious to you:

We are to build repetitive rhythms of intentional remembrance and reflection during, after and even before our blessings and trials.

We are to build repetitive rhythms of intentional remembrance and reflection during, after and even before our blessings and trials.

3. Remembering the big and small

I’ll keep this one short and sweet. In Deuteronomy 4 we see a really subtle reminder to remember the big and small.

“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that…your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.” (Deuteronomy 8:2-4).

I just love this. Right after Moses commands the Israelites to not forget how God has rained bread from heaven and led them with a towering vortex of flame, he tells them to remember how he helped their feet not swell.

Take a moment and put yourself in their shoes (pun intended!). Think of the ridiculous miracles you have witnessed — some of the greatest acts that God has ever done on the earth. Now imagine you are standing before Moses as he delivers this speech…and in the same breath that he tells you to remember how God provided mana from heaven, he tells you to remember how your clothes didn’t wear out and your feet didn’t swell. These are two very different things. One is an over-the-top, once in a lifetime miracle, and the other feels, well…kind of mundane. But now imagine hearing these words and pausing to reflect on the last forty years, and imagine you realize that…wow…your feet didn’t get as worn out as they probably should have. You start to think more about it…man, why didn’t I end up with more sores? Sure, it’s less flashy than the other miracles you witnessed, but God was just as present and active.

The idea here is simple. Don’t just record and reflect on the big moments. Both ends of the scale show God’s provision, and sometimes it’s these little “Pebbles of Presence” that can overtime tell a very big story.

Don’t just record and reflect on the big moments. Both ends of the scale show God’s provision, and sometimes it’s these little “Pebbles of Presence” that can overtime tell a very big story.

4. Living in Community

The last truth I want to extract from this scripture is one that I missed at first. Here it is:

The Israelites needed Moses to tell them to remember.

Let’s imagine an alternate reality where Moses didn’t exist and there was no communal exhortation to stop and reflect on God’s goodness. Do you think this would have magically happened within the life of all these individuals, who were so caught up in the daily challenges and stresses of their journey? I don’t think so.

Alternatively, we can imagine another reality where Moses DID exist, but his big speech consisted of “everyone, go into your tent and just generally reflect on what God has done in your life”. What do you think…would the Israelites have ended up a the same spot? Nope. I don’t think so.

Here’s the bottom line:

We cannot do this alone.

Instead what we see is Moses taking the time to painstakingly construct a communal tapestry of God’s goodness and then using this as a means to encourage and instruct.

Making this a reality in your life

OK, time to land the plane. The good news is that taking these truths and ingratiating them into your life and the life of your family/community is actually pretty simple. You’ve given me a lot of your time already, so I will provide these “rapid fire” style, drawing on these four key points from Deuteronomy:

Practice P-S-R

Throughout these passages, Moses has been showing us three key ways we should go about building Rhythms or Remembrance that will actually stick/work: Persistence, Specificity, and Repetition.

Throughout these passages, Moses demonstrates three key pillars to developing a Rhythm of Remembrance: Persistence, Specificity, and Repetition.

He is persistent: Constantly reminding them to remember — working to build a communal rhythm

He is specific: He doesn’t speak in generalities about the goodness of God. He calls out specific moments that the people can remember and relate to — there is a visual and sensory memory associated with these

He is repetitive: He describes the SAME moments over and over again. Some of these moments were massive foundational pillars of their communal Remembrance, like the Red Sea and the release from slavery, and Moses wanted to make sure these were unforgettable for the people.

Call out the forgetfulness in your life

Like any problem, you can’t address it unless you realize the problem exists. Use this article as a means to share this concept with your friends and family, and collectively decide to do something about it.

Live in obedience

As we have discussed living in obedience to God creates Shockwaves of Shalom in your life and the lives of those around you — this is the fertile ground from which remembrance can grow. Study God’s word, let it convict your heart; live in a community that holds each other accountable to Truth; pray fervently that Yaweh would grow your obedience and wisdom.

Start recording

It’s simple. When you notice God doing something, big or small, write it down. Start simple, with a jar and strips of paper. If you find yourself amidst a trial, I challenge you to do this. He is moving. He is present with you.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

If you wait until after the trial to record God’s goodness, you will forget some of what He has done. It’s also a beautiful act of obedience that will inevitably draw you closer to the heart of God.

Start reflecting

Every week, maybe on Sundays, take down that jar, pull the paper out, and read them out loud with your family and friends. Maybe grab a strip of paper once a day and spend the day meditating on that specific moment. The callout here is simple — just make daily remembrance as normal as brushing your teeth in the morning.

Start sharing

As you reflect, share with your community. Normalize talking about God’s movement in your life. Make it a thing that people start to expect when you open your mouth. Become a Moses to your community — reference the shared moments of God’s provision that your community can reflect on. Use this as a means to call people back into relationship with God and with each other. Remember, be persistent, specific and repetitive.

In Closing

I really, genuinely hope this helped you. It’s not too late to learn how to remember — it just takes intentionality and community.

If this is something you want to build into a consistent rhythm in your life, I have three final calls to action for you.

One: Start following Living Stones (this Publication!) on Medium. We are dedicated to helping the global Christian community build this Rhythm of Remembrance, and my hope is that both our articles and the app itself will be of great service to you.

Two: Consider sending your own story of God’s faithfulness to youarelivingstones@gmail.com, if you would like us to publish it! Stories of how God has moved in your life can be a major encouragement to others that are in desperate need of encouragement and hope.

Three: We are building a mobile app (Living Stones) that is designed to help you and your community do everything I just talked about above, with the power and convenience of your smart phone. It is currently in development, and if you would like to be the first to get early access to the app, as well as progress updates and more exclusive goodies, please go to livingstones.app and sign up by providing your email.

Living Stones

Stay tuned, and God bless.

John

Hey Christian: we’ve forgotten how to Remember was originally published in Living Stones on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.