By: Lindsey Whitmore
Don’t let the rock’s cry be louder than yours for the Lord! This is simply what I heard as I was reading in my Bible. I had to stop and quickly place the Spirit’s words in the notes feature of my phone. I knew I would need to keep them close.
“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” Psalm 119:18 (ESV)
Luke 19:28-40 describes Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Prophecy is being satisfied in these very verses. The Pharisees could not and did not want to understand why the people were worshiping this man and wanted Jesus to silence them. Jesus simply responded, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” (Luke 19:40 NLT)
Do we really want to be replaced by stones? Do we want to think we are worshiping Jesus just to find out that our silence, refusal to stretch, or unwillingness to be uncomfortable left us off Calvary’s path?
Worship is not merely singing a few songs before a message is spoken. Worship is a lifestyle. It is an every day, every minute acknowledgement of God. It is the awareness of His Son, Jesus Christ in us and participating with God by allowing the outpouring of His Holy Spirit through us.
Another instance where worship was misunderstood and desired to be silenced was in 2 Samuel when David brought the Ark of God back to Jerusalem and then finally to his hometown, known as the City of David. The Scripture states that in the joy of having the blessing of the Ark of God with them, David stopped the procession, sacrificed a calf, and “danced before the Lord with all his might” (2 Samuel 6:13-14 NLT). His spirit could not be held back. David did not waste a moment to express his worship or risk the stones doing it for him!
However, David's wife, like the Pharisees, could not or did not want to understand why the King would be acting this way. She called David “shameless.” His response was powerful: “I was dancing before the Lord… I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes!” (2 Samuel 6:21-22 NLT)
Will we participate with the Holy Spirit’s prompting even if it means humiliation or being despised by onlookers who deem our obedience as shameful? Will our lives reflect that we were willing to dance before the Lord like no one was watching and like David, ‘with all our might’?
One of my favorite vocalists, Kim Walker-Smith, sings in her song, Stones, “I will praise You… I won't let the stones cry… I will praise You. Something in me has to…” These lyrics came on shortly after I received the precious words from Holy Spirit in my Bible time with the Lord. I pray today, like Kim’s lyrics, you will praise the Lord; you won’t let the rocks do what was meant for you to do. I pray each person reading this would allow the chains of religion, timidity, and others’ opinions to fall off them today and experience the freedom to walk into deeper worship.
Worship: God expects it, Jesus deserves it, and Holy Spirit was sent to help it!
