Daily Devotional

Joshua 4:5b–7 - “⁵ …'Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, ⁶ to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ⁷ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

"Finding Dory" is the sequel to Disney's hit film "Finding Nemo". In the original movie, Marlon is a widowed father who loses his son "Nemo" and swims across the ocean to "find" him. Now, given that bit of information, you can guess what the second movie is about even if you haven't seen it. Dory is a friend of Marlon's who suffers from short-term memory loss. And there's a scene at the beginning of the second film that is the catalyst for the rest of the movie. Marlon and Dory get into a bit of an argument and Marlon says to Dory, "Go wait over there and forget. It's what you do best."

Now if we're being honest, many of us are forgetful. And while the majority of us may not have the challenge of living with short-term memory loss, we still need constant reminders for things we'd otherwise forget. My grandma used to tell me, "Boy you'd forget your head if it wasn't attached to your body." So, what's my point? Well, if things are important enough to us, we will do certain things to ensure that we don't forget them. So, how much more should we do that when it pertains to the things of God?

In today's passage, we see Israel ending their 40-year timeout. Their new leader Joshua, is ushering them out of the wilderness and toward the Promised Land. They cross the Jordan River and God tells them to build a monument to "remember" His faithfulness. That way when future generations want to understand who God is and what He is capable of, they may look at this monument and remember. The Bible also warns us in Deuteronomy 4:9, not to forget the things we've seen or let them fade from our hearts and goes as far as to encourage us to teach these things to our children.

We are human. Our sinful nature falls short of God's perfect standard. Therefore, we are encouraged to do our best to remember that God remains faithful no matter what (2 Timothy 2:13). We, like the Israelites, each have our own story to share of how we've seen God at work in our lives. But we also may need a physical reminder from time to time that will jog our memory and remind us that we may trust God again. As you reflect this day on some of the moments God has come through for you in incredible ways, I'd encourage you to pray and ask God how you may build a physical reminder for yourself and others of His faithfulness.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.