Lord of the Dance

Life in ministry requires some late nights. I did not get home from our midweek activities until nearly ten. God still gets me up to feast on His word. He awoke me around 4:38 a.m. Later this morning I will be teaching a men’s study before daybreak. Sometimes the hours in ministry are long but the rewards are sweet. There is no better reward than to sit at the feet of the Lord with His word opened in my lap and reflecting on His truth.

God gives a supernatural strength when we are doing His work in His way. No matter how weary I am at night the Lord always gets me up early for Him. Today my meditations included thoughts on worship. Do we ever worship before the Lord? We at times may worship among the masses but how often do we really direct our worship toward an audience of one? That should be our goal and our aim. My worship should be expressed before the Lord.

To take the concept of worship one step further, do we ever worship before the Lord with all our might? This is what David did in [II Sam 6:12-23]. He danced before the Lord with all his might. The word might can also be translated “force and strength.” I interpret that to mean that David did not hold back in worship. He gave God all he had.

The word dance found in [II Sam 6:14] means to whirl. I am fascinated that David, this fierce warrior, this powerful and influential king could forget about his reputation and dignity and worship his God holding nothing back. Here we see a king dancing and worshipping THE KING! If David could worship without holding back I wonder why we can’t. David felt free to dance. Many of us are so bound by tradition and the opinions of men we are not even free to sing.

The truth is so many are conscious about what other people think. Our focus is too often on the horizontal when our gaze should be vertical in worship. It does not matter if we are worshipping in the privacy of our homes, automobiles, or some secluded spot, we ought to be able to let loose and give God all we have in worship. We ought to be able to sing at the top of our lungs unconcerned if we hit every note. We ought to be able to kneel, fall prostrate, stand with hands extended toward heaven, clap, shout, or even sit silently in pure acts of adoration. Many do not even feel the freedom to do that privately much less publicly.

I admire David who loved God more than he loved the opinions of people including his own wife, who despised him when she saw acting undignified. How I long to be free in my expression of love for the Lord. How I long to be free to worship without the distraction of what others think. I yearn to be drawn into deeper experiences with my King. I want to be free to dance in my heart before the Lord.

There will always be cynical people watching instead of worshipping. Regardless, I want to celebrate the Lord of the dance. I want to get lost in times of private worship where I lose track of time. I want to be totally unaware of my surroundings as I get caught up in fresh experiences with the Lord. I yearn to sing, lift my hands, clap, shout, and be unconcerned who is watching from behind. Maybe they will just see a man worshipping His King. I hope they see a sinner who rejoices in and before His God. I pray they see more than all of that the Lord of the dance. If they see the Lord of the dance they will be far too preoccupied with Him to be concerned about what you and I are doing.

Go ahead today. Step out of your comfort zone. Sing like nobody is listening. Dance like nobody is watching. Worship the Lord of the dance with all your might. To be perfectly honest, I really don’t care how you feel led to express worship. I just want us all to celebrate the Lord of the dance. I want us all to give people the freedom and permission to express worship to their King. He is a great Lord. He is a majestic King. For David and this morning for me is our Lord of the dance.