“Ebenezer ­­ Up till now …”

By Helen Jesze, 17th April 2015

The doctor looked up from his examination and said, “You have a tumour. I want to operate and take it away.” That was not what I had wanted or expected to hear, but things went very quickly after that. Soon I went into hospital, and stayed one week after the operation, praying that God would somehow use this time not just for my health, but to help others.

I was in a 2­-bed room with a lady, Mrs N., who had had a category of serious illnesses and was now facing something very threatening. She was not a born­-again Christian but because of her great need, she was very open and we had some good conversations. Once we spoke how Jesus told his disciples to lay hands on the sick and they would recover, and that sometimes he uses doctors to help us, sometimes only prayer and other times a combination of both. Mrs N. said she would like prayer, and she had seen my husband, George, anoint me with oil on the morning of the operation. So I took out the little bottle, anointed her with oil and blessed her in the Name of Jesus. On the following day, I shared the Way of Salvation with her and she opened her life to the Saviour.

Mrs N. left hospital before me and late at night an elderly woman was wheeled into the ward. The next morning, without warning, she said, “Can I talk to you? It’s about something very unusual.” She went on to say, “I am 85 years old. I feel so empty in here,” she touched her chest, “in my heart. I used to go to church a lot, but lately I haven’t done so, and my life seems so dark, what can I do? Can you help me?” What a joy to be able to tell about Him and pray with her.

Then there was the Kurdish lady whose sister was being wheeled down to the operating theatre and she wanted to go with her, but was not allowed to. I just “happened” to be there and went over to comfort and speak with her. It was just natural to say, “Shall we pray for your sister now? But I will pray in the Name of Jesus!” After I had prayed, with tears in her eyes, she said, “O, I am a Moslem, but I love Jesus too! I walk down a certain street so that I can see him, by the church.” I explained that Jesus is no longer on a cross hanging outside the Catholic church, but He is alive and wants to be our Friend and Saviour.

There were several other people God brought across my path, whose hearts He had prepared. As I heard the heart-­rending stories some had to tell, how glad I was for God’s goodness to me and that I had the privilege of being His child. ​How dark the night is when you have no hope; when death stares you in the face and you don’t know what lies beyond that door.

I recovered well and went home with the good news that the tumour was benign, grateful to God and to all who had been praying for me, and I remembered the prophet in 1 Samuel 7, 12­-14:

“Then Samuel took a large stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, Thus far the Lord has helped us​”

(New American Translation).

Many times God told the Children of Israel to set up something as a monument to remind them how He had given them victory in a particular situation. “Ebenezer” was to be a reminder how, with God’s help, they had gained victory over the Philistines, regaining territory and cities which had been previously captured from them.

It would not be practical for us all to do this, but if we did, what a collection of “stones” we would have, for God has been so good to us all! I did hear of a couple who, on moving into a new house, set up a stone at the bend in their drive with the words: ​“Thus far…”! ​This was to remind them that the God who had helped them in every other place would also help them in this new house!

Mrs N. and I kept in contact and sometimes she went to church with me. In hospital the specialist had told her she must have a certain procedure done in her body, but after prayer, her body had been working normally! She believed God’s healing power had touched her. Yes, He is a God of compassion wanting to help those who will call on Him! A while later, Mrs. N. died and George was asked to conduct her funeral.

My husband and I often preach at ​Ebenezer​. This is a Christian holiday and Retreat House, built by a German deaconess in the Lutheran Church, who never wanted to forget that: “Hitherto (up until this point) God has helped us”. When George was preaching in Spain, he passed a huge Baptist church with ​Ebenezer​ carved into the stone wall, and the thought came to him that each of us must ​personally ​experience this truth.

The Bible tells us that the generation of the Children of Israel who had been brought out of Egypt told these stories to their children. But it then goes on to say that ​a generation came which did not know God​. The stories passed down of God’s amazing grace and power in their parents’ lives, bringing them out of slavery, parting the waters of the Red Sea, providing them food and water, and doing so many miracles ­­ were just idle tales and not a living reality.

I was nine years old, when on a Sunday evening in church, it became startlingly clear that it was not enough that my parents knew Jesus Christ as Saviour, that ​I, personally​, must accept Him. Since that time I can also say: ​Hitherto God has helped me.

Ebenezer ​is a rock on which we as Christians must build, for without this help from God we could not exist, for even the breath we breathe comes from Him. However many gifts and talents we may have, we can present nothing ​of eternal value to our Saviour.​ He ​is the One who brings forth anything of worth in and through us.

Today, if you are facing challenges and difficulties for which you have no answer at present, it is vital to not forget how good God has been to you in the past! I wish you God’s blessing for the coming week and that Ebenezer ​will become a surety in your life and experience in an even deeper way!