It Starts Small

Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, explaining, “The Lord has helped us to this point.”

1 Samuel 7:12

We read in 1 Samuel 7, there was a huge victory over the Philistines. The Prophet Samuel set up a stone and called it Ebenezer. It means the Lord helped us. Ebenezers are signposts that remind us of God’s faithfulness.

Traveling through the disheartening land of “in betweens,” we could all use some Ebeneezers to remind us of God’s faithfulness. Hold this thought as we look at today’s scripture.

Today we read that Paul is standing before a hostile crowd. He is being accused of acting against the Jewish people, the Law, and the temple. (Acts 21:26-40) In his defense, Paul gives a very passionate speech. His speech sounds more like a testimony than a legal defense. Let us stop here for a moment, what do you think was going on in Paul’s heart as He gave this speech?

The more I read Paul’s speech, the more I am convinced it sounds like a soliloquy. A Soliloquy is an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play. Paul was speaking to himself. HIs own story was his Ebenezer. He spoke about his former life of persecuting the church and how he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. He got even more personal by explaining God’s calling on his life. He told them about how Ananias told Paul he had been chosen by the God of his ancestors.

 ¹⁴ And he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the words from his mouth, ¹⁵ since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard. 

Acts 22:14-15

Paul carried on with his personal testimony.

 and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

Acts 22:18

I can only imagine as the crowd got louder and more hostile, a sense of calm and peace fell over Paul. He had just written the letter to the Romans:

 What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

Romans 8:31

How could Paul find peace and count it joy in a moment such as this? Because Paul can recount all the Ebenezers in his testimony. This very moment what the Lord had spent so many years preparing him for. God’s faithfulness was preparing him from the old normal to a new normal and he had just stepped into the new normal. He could look upon the faces of those shouting curses and spitting on him, with the love of Christ. The same love that looked upon him on the road to Damascus. He knew he was exactly where the Lord wanted him to be and nothing could remove him from this place.

Friends, what can we learn from Paul today?

We need to set up some sort of Ebenezer today! Do you have personal mementos from your journey that remind you of the special experiences with God? I write journals to detail God’s grace in my life. No matter what the format is, the goal is to be reminded of our God’s faithfulness.

Ebenezer. Thus the Lord has helped us! He has been and will be!

Thoughts to Ponder:

• When was the last time you recounted how God has helped you?
• How can you create some sort of physical signpost to remind you of God’s faithfulness?

© Kimberlee Smith 2025 http://www.itstartssmall.com All rights reserved.