The Dance of Faith

I remember the many times my mother would turn the radio on or put a record on and we would start dancing. She taught me how to waltz, how to do the "mashed potatoe," and the twist.

I was thinking this morning of the dance King David did, in 2 Samuel 6 before the Ark of the Covenant, as he was bringing it home from where it had resided for the last 20 years, after being returned from captivity by the Philistines many years before that.

David danced with all of his might and it wasn't a solo dance, although I think if no one else were dancing, he would have. The question this raised for me was am I willing to dance alone? Am I willing to dance with all my might in the face of opposition? His wife Michal wasn't happy about it at all! What! Her King husband out making a fool of himself? She wanted no part of it!! In fact, the Bible says she despised him in her heart! (as a side note, let me add that the act of contempt on her part, caused her to be barren - be careful how we judge a move of God in worship, or it may cause us to be spiritually barren as well). David let himself go in absolute worship to God and he danced!

What can I take from this text?

1. David faced his anger with God, sought scripture about what went wrong with the
"new go-cart" Uzzah, his friend crafted to fetch God's presence, the Ark of the Covenant, and bring it back to the people whose very act of trying to stabilize it, got him struck dead. David found there was a prescribed way to handle the Ark, a God given way. David heeded God's Word on this and learned to dance. God's Word is rich with direction for our lives, it's up to us to learn the right steps to this dance of faith.

2. David modeled the "Faith Dance." He didn't give up and quit in the face of opposition. No voice was more important to David than God's. He didn't get caught up in what people wanted or didn't want. God called him to be a leader and he didn't sit down, throw up his hands and get discouraged . . . not this time. No, this dance was just he and God, and he didn't care what others thought!

Now, that's a lesson we could all learn from.