Influencers Weekly Devotional

Dancing With Jesus by

Rocky Fleming

“And David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn.” (2 Samuel 6:14-15 ESV)

Can you imagine the scene? David, the giant killer, the King of Israel, the leader of the Mighty Men, a man’s man if there ever was one, stripped to his underwear publicly, and dancing before the Lord. It says that he didn’t just dance. He did so with all his might. I get the impression that whatever David did for the Lord, he did so whole-heartedly, and God delighted in him because of it. How about you? Are you willing to dance with Jesus? Would it help to know that it would be a delight to the Lord if you did, and it is more about your heart than your body worshipping your King? Yesterday I awoke with the above passage on my mind. Then the same day, I attended a church where a beautiful song was sung called Place of Worship. The lyrics included these words: “I sing to You - I dance with You - I cry before You, here in this place. I give my all – Just to behold You – Just to be near You – Here in this place.” As I listened to these words and drifted into my private worship of my King even with people all around me, I could not help but visualize the leaping, dancing David as if he were singing the same words in his heart as he danced. In a moment, I had a connection with that Israelite Monarch, and understood why he danced before the Lord. He was free from the boundaries of perceived “proper” behavior, as he humbled himself before the Lord to worship Him in a more radical way. Oh that all monarchs of this world would do the same. Can you imagine seeing the Queen or her children or grandchildren dancing before the Lord? It would be greater news than Prince Harry’s recent public spectacle, and a much better use of their influence. It would also be the greatest witness of worship of the true God by a monarchy since David did his dancing before the Lord. I can imagine the reason why it wouldn’t or couldn’t be done by the Queen or her family. “It wouldn’t be appropriate,” they would say. Believe me. It wasn’t appropriate in David’s time either, based on his wife Michal’s disdain seen in Verse 6:16. So what can we learn from David’s, what some would think, “Inappropriate behavior?” If we are trying to please onlookers, then something different or a heartfelt expression wouldn’t be appropriate for us. There would be too much risk to our reputation for we are more concerned about other people’s approval. But, if we are willing to forget about our self and others, and instead humble our self before the Lord in true worship, I think God will see any form of worship of Him as appropriate and pleasing. I will repeat: If it is true worship and not just for show, then it pleases God. What is seen in this passage is that David pleased God by his “inappropriate behavior.” Now I understand that some people literally dance in their worship service. Do I find this distracting to me? Yes, sometimes I do. But, do I give these believers the freedom to express their worship in this way without my disdain? Yes always, for I try to see it as God does. I personally don’t dance as an expression of my worship. If I did, it would be ugly. It was even ugly when I could dance as a young man. But, I don’t think “dancing” before the Lord is limited to a physical gyration. I think this ‘dancing with Jesus’ is instead a freedom within our spirit to worship God in a radical way. I think it is a joy and a place of sheer delight in the Lord. I think David was delighting in the Lord, and he radically, and physically expressed it. I get it. He was caught up in the Spirit, and he danced as a result. Yes, there was some disdain toward David as a result of his being a public spectacle. But, that said more about the condition of Michal’s heart than David’s act. There were also those who saw this Monarch humble himself before the Lord, and as a result they fell more deeply in love with the Lord because they saw the love of David. Likewise, there are those who will disdain our radical worship of God, if there is anything that is different from theirs. When we openly declare our loyalty to Christ and live our life in radical faith we will also be disdained, no matter how we express it, for there are both non-Christians and Christians who have put boundaries on their own faith and worship based on social norms and traditional forms of worship. They have put self-imposed boundaries on these things not because of their perspective of a God who deserves their best effort with their worship, but because they have a great need to not be misunderstood or disapproved of. They would rather maintain a sterile expression in order to not be embarrassed, than humble themselves by metaphorically or even literally “dancing” before the Lord. Anything that is radical worship or faith is seen as outside the norm of most people’s normal practice of their worship or faith. It can only be a few degrees outside the norm and still be considered radical, especially if someone is bound by their tradition in their worship of God. But, here’s a news flash: When it first began, true Christianity was a radical departure from the religious norm. The life of the early Christians was lived radically. Historically, from the dispersement of the Church to the Reformation, from the Great Awakenings in America to the present day, Christianity has been inspired by God to be lived radically in this world. If there are those believers who are offended by a radical expression of someone’s faith because it is different from theirs, I would say the criticizer is living outside the inspired Christian norm, because they are not radical enough with their faith. My suggestion to this believer is that you have the right to not agree with a certain expression, nor to participate in it. But, don’t go thinking or declaring that it is a wrong way to express worship because it is different from your way. You better believe that you will have a problem with your own worship if this is your attitude, for your pride will be standing between you and the God who delights in someone who has his eyes on Him rather than himself. Men, if you are ready to live radically for Christ, it is time for you to understand that it is a good thing to Dance with Jesus? Like that man’s man David, it is a good thing to get caught up in your worship of God, even though those who would be critical of you might misunderstand it. It is a good thing that all people who know you understand that you dance to a different beat, and it is because you live in harmony with the Spirit of the Living God that you do so. It is a good thing to lead the pack and set the pace, rather than fall in step with the status quo. The world is full of these pack followers who have no sense of direction or moral bearings, and the direction they are going leads to great disappointment, even failure and the pit of destruction. It is a good thing to get in step with the Spirit and allow Him to show you how to really dance with Jesus, for He is the One who inspires a man to express His love and faith in a radical way. It’s time for you to take the dance floor. The world needs to see what true worship looks like. Now is the time to dance.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25 ESV)

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