Memorial Stones by Joel Osteen

A few years ago, I was out running. I’d had a long day. There were some situations I was hoping would turn around. I was wondering why it was taking so long and when it was ever going to get any better. I was just kind of frustrated and stressed out trying to make things happen. While I was running, it was very windy and the leaves were blowing off the trees. One thing I’ve always liked to do is try to catch leaves while I’m running. So I was grabbing here and grabbing there, but I couldn’t catch these leaves. They were very small and darting all around. At one point, there was this huge burst of air. There must have been a thousand leaves falling all around me and I thought, “Wow! This is my chance.” I started grabbing and grabbing and grabbing, but I could not catch one single leaf. I couldn’t believe it. Here I was out running to try to relieve stress, and I was getting more stressed out because I couldn’t catch a leaf. Finally I just said, “Forget about it” and kept on running.

About fifteen minutes later while I was still running, my arm went up into the air just as a natural motion, and I felt something hit the palm of my hand. I opened it up, and there was a leaf. I couldn’t believe it! I’ve been running practically my whole life and never had a leaf fall into my hand. That was God saying to me, “Joel, you don’t have to grab. You don’t have to try to make things happen. You don’t have to live frustrated.” He was saying, “Just trust Me, and I’ll give you the desires of your heart.” Now every time something is not happening as fast as I would like, or I’m tempted to worry that it’s not going to work out, I go back and get my leaf out and look at it. That leaf reminds me that the Creator of the universe is in control of my life. It reminds me that the Most High God is directing my steps, making my crooked places straight and surrounding me with His favor. If God can cause a leaf to blow out of a tree at the exact time to hit the palm of my hand while I’m running in motion, then surely God is in control of my life and can get me where I need to be.

To this day, I have that leaf in my desk. All I have to do is look at it, and I feel lifted and encouraged. Why? It’s because the leaf serves as a reminder of God’s greatness in my life, a type of memorial stone, so to speak. Every time I see it, I’m reminded that God is in complete control of my life.

Do you have items in your own life that serve as reminders that God is in control? They may not be physical items like my leaf; maybe they’re memories. I’m convinced that every one of us has things we know had to be the hand of God. You bumped into somebody that introduced you to your spouse. A co-worker unexpectedly resigned, and all of a sudden, you were promoted. A stranger came by to help and said one phrase that spoke volumes to your heart. Those are signs of God’s favor. So when you’re tempted to get down and think it’s not going to work out, go get your leaf out and say, “No, I remember when God opened up that door. I remember when God made a way. I remember when God spared my life. I remember when God healed my child.” Understand, there’s no such thing as a coincidence. When something good happens to you, be sensitive. Recognize that it’s God and learn to recall it often.

I can’t find one place in the scripture where it tells us to remember our disappointments, our hurts, our pains or our failures. No, again and again it tells us to remember all the great things that God has done for us.

The Psalmist said in Psalm 77:11, “I recall the many miracles God has done for me. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about them.” Notice, he said they should constantly be in our thoughts. The problem we have many times is that we are remembering what we should be forgetting: our disappointments, our hurts and our failures. And we are forgetting what we should be remembering: our victories, our successes and the times that God has brought us through.

It’s interesting that in the Old Testament, God commanded them to have certain feasts and celebrations. One of the main reasons they celebrated was to remember what God had done for them. Several times a year, they’d all stop what they were doing. Everybody would take off and celebrate how God brought them out of slavery, or how God defeated this enemy, or how He protected them over there. They were commanded, they were required to remember.

Several times throughout the Old Testament, men of faith also set up memorial stones to remind them and all who passed by of God’s great provision. In Genesis 35:14, Jacob set up a pillar, a type of memorial, in the place where God had spoken and revealed Himself to him. In 1 Samuel 7:12, Samuel took a stone and set it up saying, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” These stones or large markers were to remind them of specific victories. Every time they went by them, they would remember what God had done, how He had brought them out of bondage, healed their children, and supernaturally provided for their needs. Having those memorial stones helped it to stay fresh in their memory. That’s what we need to learn to do.

Let me ask you this: Are you taking time to remember your victories? Are you taking time to celebrate what God has done in your life? Have you put out any memorial stones? “Well, Joel, I’ve got so many problems, I’ve got so many obstacles.” No, one way to build your faith and stay encouraged is to go back over your life and remember the great things that God has already done. Remember the time that God made a way for you when it looked like there was no way. Remember the time when you were so lonely, so down, and God brought somebody into your life. Remember when it was so dark that you didn’t think you would see another happy day, but God intervened. He not only turned it around, but He gave you joy for your mourning. He lifted you up out of that pit of despair and gave you a new beginning. And here you are today; happy, healthy and whole. If you start remembering things like that; if you start recalling how God has healed you, protected you, guided you and blessed you; if you’ll get that deep down on the inside, you’ll have a new attitude. You won’t go around thinking, “Well, I wonder if I’ll ever get out of this mess? I wonder if God’s ever going to work in my life.” No, you’ll be saying, “I know if God did it for me once, He’ll do it for me again. I’ve seen Him do it in the past, and I know He’s going to do it in the future.”

For me, my leaf is a major memorial stone in my life. I revisit it often, and it strengthens my faith and inspires me to keep on fighting the good fight of faith, to keep pressing higher, reaching further and enlarging my vision because God has always made a way in the past and will continue to do so in the future. I encourage you to revisit the memorial stones in your life. As you do, remember, your greatest victories are not behind you, they lie in front of you. God is the same today as He was yesterday. If He’s brought you out once, He’ll do it again! As you remember the signs of God’s goodness and faithfulness, you will be strengthened and encouraged to keep fighting the good fight of faith in your own life.