Fall 2024
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By Beth Madison
[David] took his shepherd's stick and then picked up five smooth stones from the stream and put them in his bag. With his sling ready, he went out to meet Goliath (1 Samuel 17:40, GNT).
As a child, I loved to find smooth stones for skipping across a stream or carrying in my pocket to rub on with my fingers. I still like to look for stones like these today, except now I’m the one making sure they’re removed from my pockets before doing the laundry. Smooth stones with their cool, polished surfaces are fascinating and beautiful to me in nature, art, and architecture. Even now, touching smooth stones can sometimes help me focus and straighten tangled emotions and thoughts trying to wash me away in waves of worry.
Most smooth stones in nature didn’t begin that way. Stones are made smooth over time by the repeated action of water or wind on exposed rocks. Often, these rocks are already cracked from weather, weight, or gravity wearing on them in slow, steady, and relentless forces. The pressure of wind or water is enough to break off pieces of the rock into smaller stones. These pieces are further polished into smooth stones over time by natural forces.
[David] took his shepherd's stick and then picked up five smooth stones from the stream and put them in his bag. With his sling ready, he went out to meet Goliath (1 Samuel 17:40, GNT).
As a child, I loved to find smooth stones for skipping across a stream or carrying in my pocket to rub on with my fingers. I still like to look for stones like these today, except now I’m the one making sure they’re removed from my pockets before doing the laundry. Smooth stones with their cool, polished surfaces are fascinating and beautiful to me in nature, art, and architecture. Even now, touching smooth stones can sometimes help me focus and straighten tangled emotions and thoughts trying to wash me away in waves of worry.
Most smooth stones in nature didn’t begin that way. Stones are made smooth over time by the repeated action of water or wind on exposed rocks. Often, these rocks are already cracked from weather, weight, or gravity wearing on them in slow, steady, and relentless forces. The pressure of wind or water is enough to break off pieces of the rock into smaller stones. These pieces are further polished into smooth stones over time by natural forces.
And only God can give all of us a faith strong enough to choose five smooth stones from a stream of tears... |
Another essential element to forming smooth stones is the composition of the parent rock itself. Only hard rocks become smooth stones. If the rock isn’t hard enough to withstand wind or water’s weathering, it erodes away into individual particles. Hard rocks like granite, basalt, or feldspar often become smooth stones. In contrast, soft rocks like sandstone, limestone, or mica often disintegrate into smaller and smaller pieces until they’re washed away entirely.
The shape of smooth stones is from wind or water swirling over and around them, wearing away that which isn’t strong enough to overcome the energy contained in the wind/water. Smooth stones have been hewn out and polished by an external power not of their making or control.
On that idea of strength as necessary for smoothness: I wonder if David knew this geologic principle when he was choosing five smooth stones from a nearby stream to use in his confrontation with Goliath (1 Samuel 17:40). Did he know these stones from the stream could be better than those lying on the ground around him? Could he have learned this principle from seeing, touching, and choosing stones from streams where he took his father’s sheep for water? Could he have experimented with different kinds of stones with his slingshot and learned that smooth stones were more effective for the wild animals attacking the sheep? Scripture doesn’t answer any of those questions, but it does tell us that he went to the stream to choose those stones. Yet such questions can help draw us a better picture of the bravery and strength David showed in trusting God that day.
I wonder if the act of finding these stones and feeling their inherent strength in his hands could’ve helped David sort out tangled thoughts and emotions when he was called to face seemingly overwhelming odds with Goliath. Could these stones have prompted memories of the story of the Ebenezer stone (“stone of help”) Samuel set up after God delivered Israel from the Philistines years before (1 Samuel 7:12)? Or prompted thoughts about other stories of memorial stones, like those taken up from the Jordan River after the Israelites’ safe passage across it on dry ground (Joshua 4:7)? David knew God had protected the Israelites in many ways and at many times in the past. He knew firsthand that God had done the same for him with lions and bears (1 Samuel 17:34-35). Yet David also knew that going up against Goliath and the Philistines required a whole new level of courage in trusting God to provide what was needed when it was needed.
For those of us living in suffering, getting up to face another day full of pain, grief, and loss can feel as overwhelming as David going up against Goliath. David relied on God. And God provided. Similarly, we must choose to trust God to provide what is needed when it is needed. This choice can keep us from giving up or in to the pain. Even if we’ve overcome lions and bears in past challenges in suffering, today’s giants can roar louder than our memories of what God has done and make us think that this battle for today is already lost…
Scripture tells us plainly that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). There are no exceptions to this truth in our lives. There are no exemptions from believing this truth with our lives. If I am living in the power of that truth, I will be holding fast to truth with every particle of me. And there in truth, I can hear God speaking peace to me over those roaring giants of the unknown and (seemingly) unconquerable (see Psalm 46:10).
Scholars say David chose five smooth stones not because he doubted God’s power for his aim with Goliath but because Goliath had four brothers (see 2 Samuel 21:19 and 1 Chronicles 20:5). He chose to trust God with the giant in front of him and any others who might come. David’s choices showed his belief in God. Our choices today in suffering show our belief in God or our fear of the giants of suffering. We can live in faith like David did. We can hold fast to the truth that our Good God is greater than any giant. And any giant includes those of our own doubts, fears, and unbelief (see 1 John 4:4).
Scripture tells us many stories of people living by faith in many different challenges. Scripture highlights the faith of these people as strong, not the people themselves. None of the heroes of faith were super in abilities; they were solid in their beliefs. This truth gives me hope that a life of faith isn’t reserved for a few but is available for all.
As a child, I loved to hear stories of people doing brave and courageous deeds because of their deep and enduring faith. Now, stories like that display even greater solidity in the challenges of today’s world. Those in Scripture with strong faith believed the truth that God was indeed Who He said He was and He would do what He said He would do. Like smooth stones formed from hard rocks, strong faith endures. For if the composition of these people’s faith had been any less strong or persevering, their bravery would have eroded and disappeared in the face of trial or dissolved into the disobedience of not trusting God.
Only people believing in a strong God can endure the storms of life trying to wash or blow them away over time. Only people believing in a strong God can stand up against roaring giants and armies that seem to have won today’s battle already. Their faith gives them bravery only explained by their rightly believing that their God is Who He says He is, and they are who God says they are in 1 Peter 2:9 (ICB):
But you are a chosen people. You are the King’s priests. You are a holy nation. You are a nation that belongs to God alone. God chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
As Christ-followers, we are called to be this kind of people, no matter the circumstances in our lives. Our greatest battles can be won in empty homes, hospital beds, lonely laboratories, or uninviting offices if we are willing to surrender our wills for His way (see Ephesians 6:10-18). There is no suffering stronger than the strength we can receive from our Savior, in prayer and in promise (see 1 Corinthians 1:25 and 2 Corinthians 1:20).
I don’t say any of this lightly. I’m sharing what I’ve found to be smooth stone truths: truths gained from personal experience in trusting God in these past thirteen years of chronic illness, in studying Scripture, and seeing faith lived out in others in hard situations.
Such truths don’t just appear—they require searching and finding in nearby streams flowing with tears from pain and grief. But when found, smooth stones of truth give courage because they come from rocks made of strong faith able to withstand years of hard circumstances. They represent the most important truth: there’s nothing stronger than my God. He was David’s Rock then, and He’s my Rock today (see Psalm 18:2). And He is your Rock today, too.
Only Jesus can strengthen us in today’s trials and save us from tomorrow’s trajectory of an eternity separated from God by sin. And only God can give all of us a faith strong enough to choose five smooth stones from a stream of tears and go out to meet our Goliaths today.
Beth Madison, Ph.D., is associate professor of science at Union University. She holds a B.S from the University of Tennessee in plant and soil sciences, an M.S. from the University of Kentucky in soil conservation, and a Ph.D. from Kansas State University in soil microbiology. She posts weekly at soulscientistblog.com on topics relating to faith and science, patient advocacy, and whatever else she finds interesting to write about that week.
The shape of smooth stones is from wind or water swirling over and around them, wearing away that which isn’t strong enough to overcome the energy contained in the wind/water. Smooth stones have been hewn out and polished by an external power not of their making or control.
On that idea of strength as necessary for smoothness: I wonder if David knew this geologic principle when he was choosing five smooth stones from a nearby stream to use in his confrontation with Goliath (1 Samuel 17:40). Did he know these stones from the stream could be better than those lying on the ground around him? Could he have learned this principle from seeing, touching, and choosing stones from streams where he took his father’s sheep for water? Could he have experimented with different kinds of stones with his slingshot and learned that smooth stones were more effective for the wild animals attacking the sheep? Scripture doesn’t answer any of those questions, but it does tell us that he went to the stream to choose those stones. Yet such questions can help draw us a better picture of the bravery and strength David showed in trusting God that day.
I wonder if the act of finding these stones and feeling their inherent strength in his hands could’ve helped David sort out tangled thoughts and emotions when he was called to face seemingly overwhelming odds with Goliath. Could these stones have prompted memories of the story of the Ebenezer stone (“stone of help”) Samuel set up after God delivered Israel from the Philistines years before (1 Samuel 7:12)? Or prompted thoughts about other stories of memorial stones, like those taken up from the Jordan River after the Israelites’ safe passage across it on dry ground (Joshua 4:7)? David knew God had protected the Israelites in many ways and at many times in the past. He knew firsthand that God had done the same for him with lions and bears (1 Samuel 17:34-35). Yet David also knew that going up against Goliath and the Philistines required a whole new level of courage in trusting God to provide what was needed when it was needed.
For those of us living in suffering, getting up to face another day full of pain, grief, and loss can feel as overwhelming as David going up against Goliath. David relied on God. And God provided. Similarly, we must choose to trust God to provide what is needed when it is needed. This choice can keep us from giving up or in to the pain. Even if we’ve overcome lions and bears in past challenges in suffering, today’s giants can roar louder than our memories of what God has done and make us think that this battle for today is already lost…
Scripture tells us plainly that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). There are no exceptions to this truth in our lives. There are no exemptions from believing this truth with our lives. If I am living in the power of that truth, I will be holding fast to truth with every particle of me. And there in truth, I can hear God speaking peace to me over those roaring giants of the unknown and (seemingly) unconquerable (see Psalm 46:10).
Scholars say David chose five smooth stones not because he doubted God’s power for his aim with Goliath but because Goliath had four brothers (see 2 Samuel 21:19 and 1 Chronicles 20:5). He chose to trust God with the giant in front of him and any others who might come. David’s choices showed his belief in God. Our choices today in suffering show our belief in God or our fear of the giants of suffering. We can live in faith like David did. We can hold fast to the truth that our Good God is greater than any giant. And any giant includes those of our own doubts, fears, and unbelief (see 1 John 4:4).
Scripture tells us many stories of people living by faith in many different challenges. Scripture highlights the faith of these people as strong, not the people themselves. None of the heroes of faith were super in abilities; they were solid in their beliefs. This truth gives me hope that a life of faith isn’t reserved for a few but is available for all.
As a child, I loved to hear stories of people doing brave and courageous deeds because of their deep and enduring faith. Now, stories like that display even greater solidity in the challenges of today’s world. Those in Scripture with strong faith believed the truth that God was indeed Who He said He was and He would do what He said He would do. Like smooth stones formed from hard rocks, strong faith endures. For if the composition of these people’s faith had been any less strong or persevering, their bravery would have eroded and disappeared in the face of trial or dissolved into the disobedience of not trusting God.
Only people believing in a strong God can endure the storms of life trying to wash or blow them away over time. Only people believing in a strong God can stand up against roaring giants and armies that seem to have won today’s battle already. Their faith gives them bravery only explained by their rightly believing that their God is Who He says He is, and they are who God says they are in 1 Peter 2:9 (ICB):
But you are a chosen people. You are the King’s priests. You are a holy nation. You are a nation that belongs to God alone. God chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
As Christ-followers, we are called to be this kind of people, no matter the circumstances in our lives. Our greatest battles can be won in empty homes, hospital beds, lonely laboratories, or uninviting offices if we are willing to surrender our wills for His way (see Ephesians 6:10-18). There is no suffering stronger than the strength we can receive from our Savior, in prayer and in promise (see 1 Corinthians 1:25 and 2 Corinthians 1:20).
I don’t say any of this lightly. I’m sharing what I’ve found to be smooth stone truths: truths gained from personal experience in trusting God in these past thirteen years of chronic illness, in studying Scripture, and seeing faith lived out in others in hard situations.
Such truths don’t just appear—they require searching and finding in nearby streams flowing with tears from pain and grief. But when found, smooth stones of truth give courage because they come from rocks made of strong faith able to withstand years of hard circumstances. They represent the most important truth: there’s nothing stronger than my God. He was David’s Rock then, and He’s my Rock today (see Psalm 18:2). And He is your Rock today, too.
Only Jesus can strengthen us in today’s trials and save us from tomorrow’s trajectory of an eternity separated from God by sin. And only God can give all of us a faith strong enough to choose five smooth stones from a stream of tears and go out to meet our Goliaths today.
Beth Madison, Ph.D., is associate professor of science at Union University. She holds a B.S from the University of Tennessee in plant and soil sciences, an M.S. from the University of Kentucky in soil conservation, and a Ph.D. from Kansas State University in soil microbiology. She posts weekly at soulscientistblog.com on topics relating to faith and science, patient advocacy, and whatever else she finds interesting to write about that week.