An Invitation to Dance

David danced before the Lord with all his might...Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

2 Samuel 6:14,16

What do you do when the God of the universe invites you to dance? 

Our first reaction may be to cower in fear or pretend it's not happening. But, in 2 Samuel 6, we see David's response to God is one of joy and abandon--so much so that it borders on being tacky. His wife calls him vulgar and shameless for dancing down the dusty street in what amounts to a purple apron. 

This "dance" was probably more like the rowdy streets of Pittsburgh after a Superbowl win than the choreographed and rehearsed Dancing with the Stars. David's dance was his response to God. And why not? With God's invitation come assurances that God will be with us, even through the most challenging parts of our lives.

All of our responses to God, our "dances," will be unique and come from who we are and where we are in life. We can praise God’s glorious grace through dance or song. We can rejoice in our hope and rest securely in our faith through prayer and praise. We can show our love for our neighbors through mission. We can even "dance" our pain as we cry out to God in groans and sighs, rants and screams. As Ephesians says, God has plans to gather up all things in him. God reaches out to the world inviting all of us to an eternal dance.

Accepting the invitation doesn’t mean that our lives will always be easy. Just like David, we screw up. We slow down. We grieve. We hurt.

The good news is that even when we mess up, we can be assured there is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ. Our dance partner is still there, inspiring us, loving us and forgiving us.

When we are tripping over our own two feet, God stoops to lift us up.

When we make a misstep, Jesus is there to lead and guide us.

When we want to quit, the Spirit calls us on.

When we think we can’t do it any more, God reaches out to us saying, “I love you. Come to me.”

And at that moment, we can choose.

So when you have the choice to like behave Michal or David…

When you have the choice to sit it out or dance…

I hope you dance.

Lee Ann Womack sings this, but I chose to post a video with the lyrics. You can see Womack's original video or a version of the song by Gladys Knight on YouTube.