God wants to dance – Say YES
Sometimes God is that guy at the cotillion dance asking us, “May I have this dance?” Who knows what he’s got in mind – a Charleston, a cha-cha, a waltz – but he’s looking for an answer and he’s hoping it’s a “yes.” We may not know the dance, and we may be afraid of looking foolish, but if there’s a yes in our spirits, then he’ll take it from there.
When I say “dance,” I’m talking about the way two people move together in a fluid, coordinated way. One may be leading, yet they flow together. A good dance between partners who know each other well can be inspiring to watch. That’s how it is when we’re saying yes to God’s call and following his lead. Life flows naturally when there’s a yes in our spirit.
Noah was dancing blindfolded when he built the ark. Abraham was tangoing with God when he followed him out of Ur and into the unknown. David may have messed up a bunch, but he was continually dancing with the Divine and not caring what others thought.
As I’ve discipled young people around the world, I’ve found that this is more important than just about any other issue to those who want to grow spiritually. God is perpetually asking us questions if we’ll take the time to listen to him. Most of the questions have to do with dancing and most of the time he’s looking for us to answer, “Yes.”
- Will you follow me?
- Will you do what I ask you to do when it doesn’t make sense?
- Will you give me the relationships in your life?
- Will you give me your dreams and plans?
- Will you stop worrying so much and trust me?
When God asks me for my wife or my children, I don’t like it. Is he serious? What if he wants to take them away from me? Is this a dance or some kind of forced march?
But God isn’t a sadist, he’s a lover. He wants to dance and he wants to know if we’ll say “yes” to his invitation. Somewhere in your life, he’s asking you to move into an uncomfortable place where he can lead and you can follow. It may feel scary, but the best thing you can do is go ahead and join him.
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Yay! I’m there!!
I have been asking God lately for wisdom and his timing in saying yes. I am just not sure when to say yes sometimes. I guess these are times when God is saying trust me even if it does not make sense. I am asking God to teach me how to go from when he starts to put something deeply on my heart through visions and my time with him, to actually saying yes and moving forward. Nehemiah was a person of action and that is my desire. I will spend some time looking at the examples of David, Noah, and Abraham. In my mind our focus should be specifically on praying and preparing for our short-term trip coming up, not this new dance. I am thinking if God wants a yes, he will reveal it in his time and right now he is telling me to keep my eyes on Him, spend time with him and trust him! Thanks for this great blog.
Thanks for this, Seth. This is brilliant, very timely for me too. Facing something really painful I am going to have to walk through right now and the issue does always boil down at these moments to do I trust God? Do I think He is good? What does that mean in this situation? Dance or forced march?
In honesty, I recoil. I regroup in my thoughts and test out whether I am still sure that God is good and wants good for me. Sometimes yes is so easy. One look at His beautiful face and I could never refuse Him anything. Yet at other times yes is so hard. Like standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing He wants you to jump but wondering if He really will catch you and help you fly.
About a year ago, He started calling me Cinderella. The girl who hangs out in the cellars, thinking she’s still in rags whereas actually she’s already dressed in a beautiful gown, a robe of righteousness. He invited me to dance with Him at the palace in the ballroom. I said yes, but somehow I still felt unsure it was okay to be there, that I belonged there at all. He took me in His arms to dance, leaned forward and whispered in my ear “let Me lead you.”
I think you’re right – the best thing you can do is say yes. It’s just that sometimes that yes is a hesitant stutter when the fear looms large. But it’s a start. He’s good with mustard seeds.
Yes!
Yes! I say Yes! I can never not be inspired by these blogs. Thank you for encouraging once again! Blessings
Thank you, thank you, thank you once again. Those five questions speak directly to the core of my being and are the perfect follow-up to the conversation I was having with Him this morning.
And the Judges score is; 10 10 and 10!
Good blog but right now I feel like Noah with a blind fold on with all the lights turned out….I know God wants us to dance with him but sometimes it seems like he either leaves us on the dance floor looking stupid or he leaves on sitting on the chair while we watch others dance. I know its not God’s fault but maybe he invited to a dance and I went to the wrong place …I don’t know, anyway, thanks.
Yes.
Hi Frustrated and discouraged,
So sorry you are struggling right now. I wonder if Noah felt like you do now – blindfolded but also feeling crazy, open to ridicule, out in the open, dancing alone in the middle of the floor and feeling vulnerable. My guess is he did. We know the ending – we know it rained and it turned out okay in the end. But he didn’t. I wonder how many times he doubted whether it was really God or if he was in the right place or doing the right thing. He still hung on in there and built that boat anyway. I guess sometimes it’s worth hanging in there at those times when it doesn’t seem to be coming together, when you wonder if you heard God right the first time, or even if He’s just toying with you to test your faith – not that He does, but it can feel that way sometimes.
The right place is always to be found in going straight to Him. Doubts, questions, disappointments – these are things that all keep me out of His presence, or send me there angry and distant because I’m scared. Hard to trust hopefully at those moments. Don’t know if you are anything like me? But the right place can always be found, even if its out of sight to me for a while because of the way things have worked out, and the right place is always back in His arms, back being honest with Him. He loves you, He wants you, He has good plans for you and He’s never going to let you go from that no matter what. Stick with Him. He’ll show you the steps yet. And He’ll amaze you with the dance He has planned to do with you. It ain’t over till it’s over. And it ain’t over yet.
Carol:
Thank you for letting God use you to encourage me. You couldn’t have described it any better. Thanks again.
as one whose favorite hobby is dancing, one time the Lord gave me a vision of me and Him dancing together. it was beautiful. He reminds me of it when He reminds me of His love. Now I have another perspective to think about when He reminds me of it more. thanks seth. 🙂
Love this, Seth! I watched “Take the Lead” before I read this, and it put me in a dancing mood, and then I saw your blog and all I want is to dance with my Jesus. What an encouragement that we might not have any clue how to dance, but He is the One directing all our steps anyway so we have nothing to worry about.
Not sure how I missed this blog the first time around…but I am sure that the Lord prompted me to read it this morning for HIS purpose! You’re a wonderful encourager, Seth and a builder of dreams…thanks