The Five Stones in David’s Pouch – Stone 2

Today I continue my look at the Five Stones in David’s Pouch as Pastor Jeff Voth teaches about in his great book Cavetime. The first stone was the stone of “Show Up”. It sounds simple but if you don’t take time to show up in God’s presence then He cannot help you. So show up.

The second stone we will look at is the Stone of Worship. In my opinion this might be the least used of all the stones, yet it has the power to stop the devil in his tracks. When most of us think of worship we think of church and often we use that very term in describing what we do on Sunday. We go to worship service. We sing songs and worship God every Sunday. But is that where our worship should end? No, that is where it should begin.

The Psalms are maybe the greatest place to begin learning about worship. Again we turn to David, who wrote most of the psalms, as we hear what he says in Psalm 34:1, “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!”

David knew the power of worship. He wrote the Psalms in days filled with trouble and sorrows. Study the Book of Jonah and you will see that Jonah’s prayer was filled with quotes from the psalms. Both Peter and Paul used the psalms in the New Testament and Jesus quotes them more than any other book. How often do we Christians turn to the Book of Psalms in times of need? The reason why the psalms are so oft quoted is because they give God the praise He is so worthy of. They remind of us of who God is and why we can praise Him.

Certainly it is easy to praise God when things are going well. Praise and thanksgiving are key components of worship. Faith is easy to have in good times. But what happens when the storms come? When the diagnosis is cancer or the layoffs get to you? What happens in the dark night when your spouse has left you alone for another person? Or you stare at the burnt remains of everything you own after fire destroys your home?

I will tell you what happens; Satan rejoices. From the day of man in the Garden of Eden Satan’s goal is to keep us from worshipping God. Paul warns us of this in 2 Corinthians 11:3 saying, “I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”

The worst thing we can do in the middle of a storm is to turn away from God. Ask Peter how that worked out for him. He was walking on water in the middle of the storm until he took his eyes off of Jesus. Then he sank into the waves. In your worst hour Satan will show up and cast aspersions on God. He will whisper questions such as these to you. “If God loved you why would He let this happen?” “If God is all powerful why can’t He heal your loved one?” “If God is so strong and is able to be everywhere then why didn’t He stop that car from hitting your child?” Satan will not let up until you finally cry out in agreement and you begin to doubt God.

It is that hour of the darkest night that you must pull out the stone of worship. When you rise up off your knees in sorrow and lift your hands to God and sing out in songs of worship Satan loses his grip on you. Sing out the greatness of our God in Word. Thank Him for the trial you face and remember that His Word is true and that He works all things together for good. Remember the words of James 1:2-4, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

It isn’t easy to pull out the stone of worship in the worst of times. If times are good then use them to build your faith now so when the stuff hits the fan you won’t have to be looking for something you don’t have.

So remember to show up and worship God. These are your first two stones to sling at the enemy when he is on the attack. As we move forward tomorrow we will look at the third stone which is prayer. At the end of this study you will see that we need all 5 of the stones to get through this life and they complement each other.

Life is hard and we need to retreat to our own cave to get replenished and re-armed. You will be amazed at how good you can become with the stone of worship. You will be amazed how good it feels to have the peace that transcends all understanding. You will be amazed at how good God is.

God Bless you all.