memory

As you start to get older in life, your memory does some pretty crazy things.  It seems like there is a battle between long-term and short-term memory.  For instance, how many of you can resonate with this?  You walk into a room, and you cannot remember for the life of you why you came.  Or you go to write down a note and then you can’t remember what you were intentionally trying to remember.  You can’t remember any of this, but you can recall the digits of your childhood telephone number and all the lyrics to your favorite 90’s hit. 

The other crazy thing is that there is so much that happens in a day, week, month, and year that you cannot possibly remember all the blessings and provisions from God unless you have an intentional method of recalling those things.  This past year I did blessing strips each week to be able to reflect on at the end of the year and see all the ways that God remained faithful.  This year I am writing a blessing each day on my calendar to be able to see daily goodness.  If we don’t make an intentional effort to remember, then the moments and promises will get bogged down in our daily lives. 

We see a lot of remembering in the Old Testament.  Many times, people used stones or other things to build memorials for times that God had provided or spoke to them.  In Genesis 28 we see Jacob having to leave his family after some rough choices.  He is alone in the camp and found a place to rest on a stone when God came to him in a dream and told him that He would bless him and his descendants and that He would protect him and his family wherever they went.

“The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.  Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”  Genesis 28:18-22

Jacob was not at a spiritual high point when God met him at Bethel. He was running—away from family conflict, away from consequences, and into an uncertain future. Yet it was there, in a lonely place with nothing but a stone for a pillow, that God reaffirmed His covenant. God didn’t wait for Jacob to “get it together.” He spoke promises over him right where he was.

After Jacob awoke from his dream, his response was telling. He took the stone he had used for a pillow, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on it. He named the place Bethel, meaning “house of God.” That stone became a memorial—a physical reminder that God had been present, faithful, and true to His word.

Throughout Scripture, God’s people often created memorials: stones stacked by a river, altars built after victory, festivals established to remember deliverance. Why? Because God knows how easily we forget.

We forget His promises when circumstances look bleak.
We forget His faithfulness when prayers feel unanswered.
We forget His blessings when new challenges arise.

Memorials help anchor our faith to truth rather than emotions.

Jacob didn’t know how or when God would fulfill every promise spoken that night. But he marked the moment anyway. That pillar stood as a reminder for future Jacob—the one who would face years of waiting, wrestling, and uncertainty—that God had already spoken, and God would be faithful.

We may not build stone pillars today, but we are still called to remember. A journal entry written in a hard season. A date circled in your Bible. A blessing written on a slip of paper or a calendar entry.  A photo, a note, a testimony shared with your children. These are modern memorials that declare, “God met me here.”

When we intentionally remember God’s promises and blessings, we strengthen our trust for what’s still ahead. Memorials don’t just remind us of what God has done—they give us courage to believe Him for what He will do.

This devotion was written by Amy Carrico.

Last Updated on February 2, 2026