Raising an Ebenezer: Remembering God’s Help

Today’s episode is a remembering one.

As I prayed about what to share, I kept hearing a single line from an old hymn echoing in my heart.

It’s a phrase that once puzzled me, but this season it’s become a posture, a pause, a way of stopping long enough to look back and testify.

“Till now, the Lord has helped us.”

Welcome to Unwrapping Rest, the podcast for Christian women who are tired of the hustle, weary from perfectionism, and longing for a hope that doesn’t wear them out.

I’m Dawn Tolbert, writer, striver in recovery, and fellow traveler learning to trade performance for peace.

I’m so glad you’re here.

This is Episode 12, Raising an Ebenezer: Remembering God’s Help.

When I was younger, in church we would sing the hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. I used to think, “Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’m come,” was the strangest line. Every time we sang it, I’d wonder what in the world an Ebenezer was.

Later, I have to admit that, as an English major who fell in love with the writings of Charles Dickens at an early age, one of the first answers I thought of was his infamous Ebenezer Scrooge, who you most likely know is a miserly businessman visited by the ghosts of Christmas.

Of course, I knew the hymn wasn’t referring to that character. In fact, a man named Robert Robinson penned the hymn in 1758, nearly a full century before Dickens brought Scrooge to life on the page.

So what, then, is this Ebenezer?

Thank goodness for the internet so we can look up such answers. Any search will point you directly to Scripture, specifically 1 Samuel 7.

This chapter comes near the end of the period when Israel was governed by judges. Samuel was the last of those judges before anointing Saul as Israel’s first king.

In this chapter, Samuel calls the people to return to the Lord. He promises that if they repent and turn from their idols, God will deliver them from their enemies.

The people do repent, and God gives them a great victory at Mizpah.

After that victory, Samuel takes a stone and sets it up, naming it Ebenezer because verse 12 tells us, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”

When Samuel set up that stone, he was building a tangible monument to remind the people of the Lord’s help.

I think that’s a wonderful reason to sing about raising our own Ebenezers and to pause and reflect on this idea.

I am a planner. More often than not, my overachieving heart is ready to dream new dreams and chart a plan for the future.

All of that can be good, but before I hurry along on my planning way, I need to pause and raise my own Ebenezer.

And that’s what I want to do today.

I want to testify to the Lord’s goodness to me in the past year—and throughout my half-century-plus before that.

You see, it’s important to stop and look back on our journey.

My goal isn’t self-pity or self-praise. It isn’t to wallow in hurt or heartache, to brag, or to replay past happenings.

Instead, I come testifying that all that has come before is because of the Lord’s help.

Waking up this morning with a beating heart and breath in my lungs—the Lord provided that.

Having the ability to write these words and tell you how great God is—that’s Him too.

This year, He has opened incredible doors for me to speak to women who want to seek after God with their whole hearts, to walk through a difficult season with a dear friend, and to stand on foreign soil and tell a hurting woman how much her Heavenly Father loves her.

He’s provided beauty in sunrises and sunsets, the smiles of our new great-nephew, and the privilege of worshiping God alongside other believers.

He’s given us a good year with family, even though we’ve navigated the loss of loved ones and the challenges of aging.

He’s given new mercies every morning.

He has lavished us with grace, mercy, and love beyond anything we can begin to imagine.

He has walked with us through dark, difficult days and carried me when I wasn’t sure I could go on at all.

Til now, the Lord has helped us.

Hebrews 13:8 reminds us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Because He has helped me before, I can be confident that He will help me going forward into the future.

Actually, straight through this world’s future and into time without end.

What about you?

As you think back on the past twelve months, whether you’re listening in these early days of 2026 or a decade in the future, how have you seen God’s help in your life?

Thank Him for the blessings you’ve received and for His presence in times of trouble.

Then prayerfully consider what stone of remembrance you can set up today to remind yourself of His goodness and to be a testimony to others.

Maybe yours won’t take the form of a blog post or a podcast episode. It could be a painting, an act of service, or even an actual stone that reminds you every time you see it that God’s help is carrying you through.

Would you pray with me?

Heavenly Father, thank You for the example of Samuel as he set up the Ebenezer stone to remind the Israelites of Your goodness.

Today, I build this post in that same spirit, reminding myself of Your goodness, sharing that testimony with others, and praising You for Your goodness to me.

Lord, help me keep my eyes fixed on You as I move forward from this moment.

And I pray that for my friends who are reading and hearing this as well.

Help us all find our hope in You for all of the days ahead.

We love You, Lord.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Thank you for spending time with me as we learn the true meaning of unwrapping rest.

My hope is that today’s reflection gave your heart a little breathing room and reminded you that rest isn’t something you have to earn—it’s something you’re invited to receive.

Until next time, keep resting, keep trusting Jesus, and remember: You don’t have to do it all to be deeply loved by God.

I’m cheering you on, always.