I tell you he replied, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.
Luke 19:40
During 2026, Peachtree Church is inviting everyone into Cultivate, a churchwide discipleship plan centered on the fruit of the Spirit and the kind of life God longs to grow in us. Throughout the year, we’ll explore how love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control take shape in everyday life through the Spirit’s work. Cultivate brings together worship, Scripture, group guides, and meaningful practices designed to meet you where you are and support growth in ways that fit your season. These twice-weekly devotionals are one way to stay connected, offering reflection and grounding for daily life with God. Whether you engage in many ways or just one, you’re invited to be part of this shared journey of becoming more rooted in who God has created and called you to be.
Devotional
As Holy Week unfolds, we return again to the road leading into Jerusalem. The crowds are still there. The voices are still rising. The joy is still unmistakable. “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”, they shout.
And yet, not everyone welcomes this joy. Some of the Pharisees, standing nearby, hear the praise and are unsettled by it. They ask Jesus to quiet the crowd. To tone it down. To make it more contained, more appropriate, morecontrolled.
But Jesus responds with words that echo far beyond that moment: “I tell you… if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
There is something about joy that is rooted in God that cannot be contained. It does not always fit neatly into expectations and can be misunderstood by those standing nearby. Sometimes it is even resisted. And still, it rises. It is a joy grounded in the reality of who Jesus is.
Even when misunderstood, it remains.
Even when questioned, it holds.
Even when others try to quiet it, it finds a voice.
This joy does not originate within us. It is a response to God’s work already unfolding.
Jesus is entering Jerusalem. The King has come. God’s promises are being fulfilled before their eyes, even if they cannot yet see the fullness of it. And then, just a few verses later, we are told, “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it …” (Luke 19:41).
Joy is rising from the crowd, and tears are falling from the Savior.
In this moment, we see something profound. Joy and sorrow are not separate in the life of faith. They are often held together. Jesus receives their praise, and at the same time, he grieves what is broken and what is still unseen.
This is the kind of joy we are invited into. Not a surface-level happiness, but a steady, rooted joy that trusts God is at work, even when we do not fully understand what he is doing.
For Reflection
- When have you felt like holding back joy because it might not be understood?
- Where do you see joy and sorrow sitting side by side in your life right now?
- How is God inviting you to trust that his work is unfolding, even when it is not yet clear?
Prayer
Gracious Lord,
You are the King who comes, even when we do not fully recognize you.
Give us hearts that respond with joy rooted in your truth.
When joy feels difficult or out of place, remind us that it rests in you.
Let it rise within us, steady and sure, shaped by your faithfulness.
Keep us near to you this week, holding both sorrow and hope,
and trusting that your purposes are still unfolding.
In Christ name, Amen.
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Devotionals