don’t let the rocks cry out

By the very nature of creation we were made to worship God. Out of dust we were formed and that in itself is worthy of all praise, but our God did not stop there.— 

He breathed life into our lungs and abundance into our paths. 

As we turned our backs on Him, He still sought us out through covenant and promise.

When our feet walked the furthest from His path, He still knelt down to wash them. 

While we took after our own hearts, He took up the cross. 

Even when we laid down our end of the covenant, He laid down His life. 

He sees our fallen ways and our chasing of the wind, yet He still takes account for every hair on our head. 

He knows the thoughts you entertain and the self-gratification you pursue, yet He still calls you beloved.

He is with us in our dirtiest and lowest moments, yet through the cross we can come before the throne blameless. 

He sits and watches as we choose the world, yet He still chooses us.

We dig ourselves deeper into debt every day, yet He has, continues to, and will forevermore cover the cost. 

— Now after reading just a FEW of the ways our Father has cared for us, ask yourself this: “is He worthy of all of my praise?”. If your answer is not yes, then I refuse to believe that you understand the extent of the price to which our God has paid for us. Our God is worthy of ALL of our praise. If we were to ever even attempt to exude the worship that our Father deserves, we would be exalting His name 24/7 with no breaks or low morale. 

Unfortunately, we have fallen away from this understanding and out of broken human nature, we have began to make worship about ourselves. 

How often do we find ourselves annoyed when we don’t know or enjoy the song we are singing; acting as if worship is something that we are to obtain gratification from?

How often do we find ourselves upset or going through a trial so we “don’t feel up to worshipping”; acting as if the truth of Jesus doesn’t still exist when we are in the valley? In fact it’s quite the opposite, the truth of Jesus exists BECAUSE we get into valleys, so quite frankly, I cannot think of a better time to praise Him. 

How often do we find ourselves thinking about other things or checking our phone during worship; acting as if attributing worth to our Savior is not the most pressing need in our life? 

Guys, this list could go on forever of ways that we have made worship about ourselves. I hate to be this guy, but any excuse for not wholeheartedly worshipping is invalid. No matter what you’re going through, you still have a Savior that died for you, which is an unwavering reason to rejoice. If you truly believe that there is nothing stronger than the power of the cross, then I cannot imagine anything being strong enough to pull you away from worshipping it. The very root of the word “worship” means to attribute worth or value to something. Therefore, when we actively choose to not participate in worship, the message we are sending to our Savior is that we aren’t going to attribute worth to Him. He gave us breath, the least we could do is return it with our praise!!!

In Luke 19, Jesus approaches Jerusalem as king. Upon his arrival near the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples begins to worship Him with joy. In Luke 19:38, they loudly shout “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”. This bold proclamation of worship offends the opposers of Jesus, causing them to cry out “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”. In response, Jesus says “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” 

Jesus didn’t die for the stones, He died for us. Therefore, the least we could do to thank our savior is not let the rocks cry out in our place!!! Now, I’m not saying you always need to be screaming at the top of your lungs and dancing around like a lunatic to attribute worth to our Father (although sometimes it is needed); but I am saying that you need to give everything you’ve got in the moment to praising Him. Whether that looks like jumping up in joy or falling on your knees, whatever you can muster, it’s all worth giving to our Savior. Be hungry for worship. It’s the least He deserves. 

He took your place on the cross, don’t let the stones take your place in worship.