“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.” (Psalm 30:11) Those who grew up in my generation loved to dance. We were teenagers during the years of Motown and Disco. During high school, there were usually dances held every Friday and Saturday night. Most of us think that we could dance pretty good, but in reality we probably looked like three-legged chickens running from a frying pan. Oh, well, at least we were too stupid to realize it, and as they say, ignorance is bliss.
To this day, some old tunes come over the sound systems in stores and we are tempted to bust out an old school move. However, for the sake of decency and not embarrassing our kids or grandkids, we contain ourselves and just resort to humming the tune and remembering when body parts could move freely without freezing up and sending us to the emergency room. However, as Christians, hope springs eternal and our spirits never seem to age. Of course, we realize many things change as we glance in the mirror every morning.
Through faith, God sets our life to music. We begin to learn the rhythms and timing of the Holy Spirit and how to read God’s will from the Scriptures. Our life is no longer connected to the beat of Smokey Robinson or The Bee Gees. Now, we step in tune with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We have stepped onto a new dance floor, and our dance partner is Jesus Christ. With grace and love He teaches us to move in unison with the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
God’s dance lessons can be difficult. Because of our innate tendency to be selfish and independent, the Lord has to allow trials into our life to slow us down to His rhythms. When I was young in Christ, I heard an old preacher once say, “Youth is wasted on the young.” At the time I did not understand. However, as the Lord, through His mercy and grace, allowed trials of health to enter my life, I began to see how He was slowing me down to begin moving at His pace in order to recognize the suffering of others. In my youthful zeal, I was guilty of running past those who were hurting while attempting to be busy for God.
The Lord invites us to His dance floor. It doesn’t have the look of strobe lights or flashy clothes. Instead, it is outlined with humility, truth, and love. It is filled with men and women who have learned God’s ways and are being used by Him as instruments of His care. We may not move to the old tunes like we use to. We may not look cool or move to the rhythm of the world. However, we can learn new moves and faithfully fulfill our purpose when we begin…Dancing With God!
