Today’s devotional is written by Lori Steinkamp Lassen. She is our only daughter, who has been married to her husband, Scott for 27 years. Lori is the mother of four children, and has worked with the ministry for many years. May her devotional deepen your spiritual walk with the Lord. – Charlyne
So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “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, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 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.” Joshua 4:4-7
When the Israelites crossed into their promised land, they were instructed to gather 12 large stones from the Jordan River. These stones would be set up as a sign to future generations of God’s faithfulness in keeping His promises.
Several years after my parents’ restoration, my dad had a local landscape company deliver 12 large stones that were placed in their backyard. He had written a beautiful note and attached it to the stones for my mom to find. Those stones weren’t dug up from the base of the Jordan River, but they were a tangible reminder of the promise God fulfilled in their marriage when their broken marriage was restored.
Has Jesus Christ brought healing to your marriage? What visual reminder do you and your spouse have of the work the Lord has done (and will continue to do) in your marriage? It doesn’t need to be as big as 12 large landscaping stones, but find something special to both of you and let that serve as the reminder to keep pushing forward.
Your marriage may be in a place today where you feel like you don’t have anything to celebrate in your relationship. While you may still be in the thick of healing, you can still trust God for his mercy and healing in your home.
While you are in the process, take time to identify your large stones and look for ways the Lord is blessing your relationship. The large stones in your marriage are your priorities. In this season, what are the priorities that need to fill your time together?
- Do you need to be intentional about improving communication?
- Do you need to begin showing your spouse respect?
- Do you need to stop belittling your spouse?
- Do you need to make plans to spend quality time alone?
Pray and ask the Lord to help you come up with the list of priorities that you should focus on in this season of your marriage. Ask the Lord to give you the desire to be selfless in your marriage as you strive to become more like Christ.
“He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” Joshua 4:24
God bless,
