“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’” 1 Samuel 7:12
Scripture records many times when God’s people were encouraged to remember the Lord’s special blessing in their lives. Sometimes they erected stones to mark exceptional events of God’s love and faithfulness. Samuel memorialized Israel’s victory over the Philistines and called the stone, “Ebenezer” or “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” Every time someone would walk by the “Stone of Help” they would pause, reflect, and rejoice because the Lord’s great victory.
As fundraisers we can be so focused on our current and future needs that we neglect to celebrate how God has blessed us in the past. We are laser-focused on reaching our annual operating fund by June 30th, then on July 1st we start all over on the next fiscal year. We push right through and forget to thank God for his help. We also forget to celebrate and thank our donors for how God used them to help us.
Do you pause and celebrate your fundraising victories? Do you have a wall of remembrance for your last successful capital campaign? For the big victories, host a celebration banquet and give your donors an opportunity to rejoice with you. When you praise the Lord and thank your donors for helping you “thus far,” you are also communicating that you will need their help for the next battle.
“Lord, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.
Repeat them in our day,
in our time make them known” Habakkuk 3:2.
God bless your week Friend,
Ron