“When He came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen. ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’ ‘I tell you,’ He replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’” Luke 19:37-40
What did it mean for Jesus to hear the voices of His disciples crying out loudly in praise for Him? What cord did that strike in Him, knowing what was to be shouted in the weeks to come?
I have often wondered what it would mean for the rocks to cry out in our stead. What story do they have to tell of the One who created them? Recently, my family and I visited some national parks in Utah. One of those was Canyonlands. The main road through the park is on the rim of the canyons. There is a dirt road you can take through the canyons (a road we did not have time to travel). As I looked into the canyon, I wondered what it would be like to hear the rocks cry out in praise of the Lord who made them. What a glorious, resounding chorus would erupt! I felt like I would see the notes, the praise rising from the canyons and making their way to heaven! And then I thought, what would it be like to be IN the canyon as the rocks cried out? What would it sound like to be surrounded by the praise being lifted to the heavens? I am sure the earth would shake and rumble. The depth of sound coming from the center of the earth to praise the Lord. I know I would feel it from the very core of my being. It would resonate with the very fiber of my being and I would lift my hands in praise, an incredibly joyous smile on my face and my heart filled to overflowing. And I would listen and enter in, heart, mind, and soul, recalling the last verse in the Psalms, Psalm 150:6, where it says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.”
Where does the Lord reside in you? It is hard, I know, to allow Him to travel from our mind to our heart, from our heart to our soul, from our soul to our whole being. Sometimes it feels safer to let Him remain in our minds where we can keep Him at an intellectual distance. It is easier to keep Him in the compartment of our minds, than let Him have our hearts, our souls. Consider this...would you rather have the rocks cry out, allowing them the incredible thrill of praising the One who made us, rather than surrendering yourself to His presence in all of you? May we not just “join” the song, but may we lead it right up to our very last breath. Let’s praise the Lord together with hearts full to overflowing with the joy of knowing Him, even in the midst of trials and challenges, recognizing again and again that He is God.