"Thus Far The Lord Has Helped Us" ~ Last Friday Foto Friends for 2016!

"Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between 

Mizpah and Shen, 

and called its name Ebenezer, saying, 

'Thus far the Lord has helped us.'"  

I Samuel 7:12

As we come to the end of another year, can we look back and say with Samuel, "Thus far the Lord has helped us?"  I don't know what you've been through during the past year...perhaps there has been  sickness, sorrow, disappointment...or maybe you've actually been blessed with good news...happy occasions and times of great joy.  Most likely, if we would be honest with ourselves, we've probably had some of each...the good times, and the bad times.  But can we see the hand of the Lord in the midst of it all?  Have you felt His Presence beside you, undergirding you, giving you strength for the tasks ahead?

The picture below was taken one morning this week as my hubby and I took our early morning walk...in the fog on this particular day.

As I looked to the east I could see the sun trying to break through the fog...but as I looked ahead it appeared that we were walking deeper into the mist...into the unknown...

And it occurred to me that this is where we are on these last days of 2016...walking into the unknown days ahead of 2017.  The current events of the world are enough to cause us to pause and wonder just what truly may lie ahead.  Kind of a "Closed Doors-Open Window" event, huh? 

The Old King James version of I Samuel 7:12 uses the word "hitherto" in place of "thus far".  When we say "hitherto", we most likely think of the past experiences only.  But "hitherto", or "thus far" is not the end.  It merely means that we've come this far...but we are still moving forward.  

In the little daily devotional book, Streams In The Desert, by Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman, it is stated in the reading for December 31st the following:

"For when a man gets up to a certain mark, and writes "hitherto," he is not yet at the end; there are still distances to be traversed.  More trials, more joys; more temptations, more triumphs; more prayers, more answers; more toils, more strength; more fights, more victories; and then come sickness, old age, disease, death.

Is it over now? No! There is more yet-awakening in Jesus' likeness, thrones, harps, songs, psalms, white raiment, the face of Jesus, the society of saints, the glory of God, the fullness of eternity, the infinity of bliss.  Oh, be of good courage, believer, and with grateful confidence raise thy "Ebenezer," for,

      "He who hath helped thee hitherto will help thee all thy journey through."

According to this same little devotional, it is stated that

"The Alpine shepherds have a beautiful custom of ending the day by singing to one another an evening farewell.  The air is so crystalline that the song will carry long distances.  As the dusk begins to fall, they gather their flocks and begin to lead them down the mountain paths, singing,

 "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.  Let us praise His name!"

"And at last with a sweet courtesy, they sing to one another the friendly farewell: 'Goodnight! Goodnight!'  The words are taken up by the echoes, and from side to side the song goes reverberating sweetly and softly until the music dies away in the distance." 

Beautiful Sunset on Christmas Day

As we approach the final hours of 2016, can we sing and echo across the miles to one another:

"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. 

Let us praise His name!" 

"Goodnight! Goodnight!"

And may our song reverberate around the world and into the New Year...encouraging us as we face the unknown future ahead of us...and give us 

Hope ornament from my Christmas tree

Let us now mark this moment in time with our "Ebenezer", a stone of remembrance commemorating that "Thus far the Lord has helped us", and look forward with great hope...that as surely as God was with us in the past, He will go forward with us into our future.

Happy New Year!! 

Linking up today with Deb and our friends for Friday Foto Friends.  Click HERE to visit with others to see what special fotos  and messages they may be sharing today.