4/12 Joshua 4:21-22

²¹ And he said to the people of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in times to come, 'What do these stones mean?' ²² then you shall let your children know, 'Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.'"

One of the repeated themes of the Old Testament is remembering the works of God. The Israelites have already been reminded numerous times what the LORD did for them in Egypt. Moses taught them a song so they would remember the warnings God gave for departing from the LORD. In our passage today they were to remember that God held back the flood waters of the Jordan until they all passed.

Remembering God's mighty acts is one of best defenses against fear and discouragement. God's dramatic interventions are few and far between. He is always at work in unseen ways in ordinary, daily life. But when He does intervene in ways that awe us, we should do something to that helps us to remember. Then when difficult circumstances come, and they will come, we can encourage our faith with what God did in the past. He may not do some dramatic visible thing in the present, but we can assure ourselves that He is working in unseen ways.

The visible memorial can also give us a chance to teach our children and their children of the great things God has done in our past. Writing is one of the ways we can preserve the memory of these times. Many believers use a journal to record those special times when God answered prayer in a dramatic way or turned the circumstances around so that what we feared did not come to pass. You can collect those highlights in life and share them with others. Children love to hear those stories and in the process you will be teaching them to walk by faith.

Consider: Share the Bible stories with your children, but also share the stories of how God has worked in your life as well. That will help them to see that faith is practical and effective today.