One of the Bible stories my daughters love to share is that of David and Goliath. We have had different lessons from that story. But one day, my daughter asked me; “Sir, the stones of David, how were they able to knock down Goliath?” I tried to explain the spiritual dimension of that story to them. But my heart was also drawn to the stones. They were lively stones.
Friend, you are a lively stone, and God wants you to function as one (1 Peter 2:5). It is the life of Christ flowing in and through the believer that makes the difference. You carry the reality of God’s power and kingdom as a lively stone. It is such stones that God can use to build His kingdom (1 Corinthians 3:9). It is such stones that can be dependent on to do an eternal work for God.
The stones that David gathered to kill Goliath were ordinary stones but with the extraordinary power of God (1 Samuel 17:40). This is why, sometimes, the believer may look ordinary. But what is working in and through the believer is not ordinary. The power of God is at work in the believer (Philippians 2:12-13). The world may underrate you, but you must never underrate yourself.
Peter moved from being an ordinary fisherman to becoming an apostle of Jesus Christ fulfilling divine purpose (Matthew 4:19, 16:18). This is what happens when you allow God to make you into what He has ordained for you. He can bring life out of your deadness. He can bring the extraordinary out of your ordinary (Jeremiah 18:1-6).
Lively stones are not made in public. They are made in the private (Matthew 6:6). Like the precast stones that were used to build the temple of Solomon, God wants to work upon you in the private before He can manifest through you in the public (1 Kings 6:7). If you miss those private moments of grace, you may meet with public disgrace.
The stones of David were smooth stones due to a constant flow of water at the brook. Are you allowing the water of the word to smooth out the roughness in your character (Ephesians 5:26)? Also, those five stones were not gathered in isolation; they were together. You need to be in the right kingdom relationships so that the best of God can come out of you (Proverbs 27:17).
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria