Lord of the Dance

Imagine you are at a ball. You know? Those old-fashioned dances that even the slow dances have actual steps. Picture yourself at one of those.

As the music plays, you sit there. At first, you just watch. But as time goes on, you want to be a part of the dance too. Just sitting and watching isn't enough. So you get up to dance. But this isn't a dance you can do by yourself. You'll fall if you don't have a partner. So you search for a partner.

You find someone, but all they want to do is follow you. And you don't know the steps, so you still can't dance. All you have is you and your partner standing there, looking confused and not going anywhere.

So you find a partner who knows how to dance. There's only one problem. This partner is great at leading you... in the wrong steps. It seems like you're always running into people who know the right steps or tripping over yourself so you don't run into them.

You decide to leave partner number two and try again. Partner number three seems perfect. They know all the right steps. They even know the words to say. But then they get distracted just when they're supposed to catch you. You fall to the floor.

You're about to give up. You've tried every kind of partner you can think of. And they all failed - miserably. You're hurt. You're tired. You're more lost and confused than you were when you started.

That's when you feel a tap on your shoulder. You look up. A hand is held out to you. Two eyes full of love look down at you. "Can I have this dance?'

You sit there for a second wondering what to say. You want to join the dance, but you've already tried so many times. You don't want to end up hurt or lost again. Eventually you make a decision. Slowly, you place your hand in the one held out to you. You allow the one holding out that hand to pull you back onto the dance floor and lead you in the most beautiful dance you've ever been a part of.

Now think about this. God is the one asking you, "Can I have this dance?"

I've had this analogy running through my mind recently of life being like a ball. The things going on around you are the music. They determine what kind of dance you should be doing. You can choose anyone or anything to be your partner, but only one partner knows the right steps, and that partner is God. Unlike other partners, you don't have to search Him out. Instead, He waits until you're ready and comes to you, hands outstretched, asking, "Can I have this dance?"

Accepting God's invitation to dance with Him takes trust. And a lot of it. You have to trust that He knows the right steps to take. You have to trust that He will tell you when to take those steps. Plus you actually have to follow Him for it to do any good.

But more than anything, you have to trust His love. You have to trust that He loves you so much He would never lead you the wrong way. You have to trust that He loves you so much He would never let You fall. On top of trusting your plans to Him, you have to trust your heart in His hands.

That kind of trust can be hard, especially for people who have been hurt before. It takes a lot of courage to give your heart to someone once it's already broken. But God is worthy of that trust.

He's the one who helps heal that hurt. He's the one who knows how to mend a broken heart. He is real love. Love that never stops, never lets go and can never fail. He gives love that can cast away all fear - the fear of rejection, of being hurt again. His love casts out fear and brings renewed trust.

But He can't do that unless You accept His invitation to dance. It's about letting Him into your life. It's about learning to love Him. It's about letting Him lead you. It's about learning to trust Him. It's about learning to trust His love.

Like any dance, life has more than one step. The most important step in this dance is accepting God's invitation to dance. Once you accept His invitation He will show you the rest of the steps. Every day is a new song to learn the dance to. So every day you have to say yes to God and follow His lead.

When you say yes, it frees you because you are so focused on Him that you don't care what people around you think. It frees you because you know you're not making the wrong move. It makes you feel secure and protected because His arms are around you and your hands are in His. You feel loved because you are.

Today, and every day from now on, I want to say yes to God. I want to accept His invitation to dance. I hope you will join me and make Him the Lord of your dance as well.