Dance like David Danced

Last week I began to feel the real dance of David.  It is a dance that rejects all dignity and loses all sense of self.

In the back of the auditorium as the worship leader sang, I twirled and stomped and jumped and flailed.  My long necklace threatened to fly in my face and it had to come off.  My shoes had already found their place under the row of chairs, but soon my socks were annoying me as they scuffed on the new carpet and I tossed them in a corner.  My sweater was cumbersome. Off it came.  My earrings stuck in my flying hair. They too had to go.  Anything else and I probably would have gotten arrrested! 

I danced for justice.  I danced for mercy.  I danced for the rows of spectators all facing forward, numbly glued to their chairs.  I danced because God is holy. 

As I peeled off the layers of my identity for the freedom of the spirit, I heard the jeers of Michal ring in my head as if the words were aimed at me:   "How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself... as one of the foolish ones....!"   It really hit me what David did when he danced "with all his might, girded with a linen ephod" before the ark of God.  (See 2 Samuel 6)  This wasn't a guy off the street in his boxers and tank.  This was the king of a mighty nation, who was shedding, bit by bit, all the signs and symbols of his authority as king!  His purple robe - it was cumbersome.  His crown - it was heavy.  His signet ring - it probably flew right off his finger!  His breastplate.  His jewels.  His shoes.  His scepter.  All the trappings of his very God-given identity! It all came off.

God became his identity.

Jesus, too, shed his identity as King.  Every right, privelege, and "perk" of being God, he forever thrust aside for a greater purpose, and now I was being challenged to do the same.  I was being challenged to do more than shed the outer accessories of my wardrobe, or even the tattered remnants of my reputation, in this wild dance.  I was being asked to clear the temple the way Jesus cleared the temple for the zeal of his father's house. Only this time, I was the temple.  And his zeal was his love for me.

To "dance like David danced" is not a form or even a ferver; it is an attitude that crucifies self for the love of someone higher.  It is a clearing away of all that is not worship.  It is abandonment of all I've achieved, all I've become, and all that I clutch for security.  It is Trust.  It is an exchange of fear for freedom, entitlement for abundance, proving myself for the relief of having nothing to prove.  At the end of my justifications, in the purity of my nakedness, I finally fix my gaze on him, the One who made me and loves me with everlasting love.  In the reflection of his eyes alone, I finally see beyond the garb of identity to who I really am.... his beloved, his priceless creation.

And I dance.  For sheer joy.

Acknowledging God

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths."

 I do trust God -- on the surface -- don't you?  I give lip service to his being in control of world events and believe in my heart that He is my eternal savior. Having memorized this oft-quoted verse since my childhood, I'd come to believe that if I acknowledge the sovereignty of God in my life (or, as some translations say, "make him known" to others) that he is obligated to straighten out my paths and make the way before me easy and sure. Yet, nearly every time I ask to hear his voice of direction lately, the only words I comprehend are "Trust Me." 

In order to trust God, we've got to give up our own understanding of things.  The Hebrew word "Understanding" in this verse is  biynah, which according to Strong's Concordance  means "knowledge, meaning, [idiomatically] perfectly" and comes from biyn the meanings of which include: "separate mentally (or distinguish); attend, consider; be cunning; diligently; feel, inform, instruct, have intelligence; look well to, perceive, be prudent.... be skillful; think....."  There are many verses in Proverbs that tell us to seek this kind of understanding, but Prov 3:5 says that leaning on our own version of these things keeps us from trusting God, and honestly, if we do lean on this understanding, it is sin.  Frankly, thinking is one my biggest problems -- I get to thinking, and can't stop.  I roll things over and over in my head, according to my own understanding.  And when I can't stop thinking, I can't start trusting. 

"Trust" is batach and has a much deeper meaning that is going to take some meditating upon to really soak it in.  It is a primitive root that literally means "refuge" and by extension has come to mean "to trust, be confident, or sure; be bold (confident, secure, sure); careless; make to hope; (put, make to trust)."

So let me reword that cliche-sounding verse that we think we all know so well:
"Be confident, bold, and even careless or carefree, as you make yourself hope in the Lord and stay within the refuge of him.  Be fully confident and secure in his ability to take care of you.  Do not depend on your intelligence, cunning, or prudence.  Your consideration and perception are insufficient, so let go of them and stop looking to your mind's ability to properly sort things out or instruct you in any way."

The next phrase expounds on this meaning:  "In all your ways acknowledge him.... "
What does acknowledge mean these days?  My Microsoft thesaurus links it to words like recognize or greet.  When you're in a conversation and someone else walks in the room, you might smile or nod toward them to acknowledge their presence.  If someone does something important, their companny may give them a  VIP award and ask them to make a speech, in order to "acknowledge" their accomplishment.  But is that the kind of acknowledgement that makes the Almighty stoop down from heaven and take notice of my little path? Perhaps it is giant fanfare that he wants, or non-stop witnessing?  Look at what Strong's says: yada = "to know (ascertain by seeing)" It includes "... acquainted with... assuredly... be aware; for a certainty; comprehend, consider, discover; familiar friend; famous; feel; kinsman; (cause to) know; lie by a man... mark, perceive, privy to...."  This is much different than what I've ever been taught!  So let us again rephrase the cliche:
"In all your ways, know God!  Ascertain who he is by seeing him!  Become acquainted with and comprehend him with certainty, as you would a relative or dear familiar friend.  Discover who he is.  Perceive what he is doing and by familiarity become privy to his secrets... and he will direct your paths."

See, it's not about manipulation.  "If I make a big enough deal about God, he'll help me."

Nor is it about assumption.  "I know God (as in, I'm saved), so whatever comes across my path must be his will."

It is about intimacy.  A well-cared for child does not ask permission from her parents on every tiny little detail.  She is acquainted with them and what they would do or ask of her.  She knows what they will say because she has already studied them and knows their habits and character.  They have told her things they haven't told other children; she has been let in on family secrets that help her understand their choices and idiosyncracies... even understand herself. When her own understanding fails her, she can come into the refuge of their greater knowledge, let go of her cares and leave her troubles to their trustworthy wisdom. All because she "knows" them.

No earthly parent truely or adequately fills the above scenario, but whether your parents come close or are the complete antithesis, God is perfect.  He is trustworthy.  He is know-able.  Knowing him, and not our mind, will direct our paths.

The ABC's

Accessing
Blessing for a
Creative
Destiny and
Everlasting
Favor,
Gaining
Heaven through
Intimacy with
Jesus, and
Keeping
Love's
Majesty
Near, we
Open
Portals to
Quintessential
Revelation and
Shining
Truth for
Utterly
Victorious
Warfare and
eXploits in
Yeshua's
Zeal.

I'm Here

Just before Christmas I was helping my mom and dad retrieve the boxes and boxes of Christmas treasures from the attic via a tall metal ladder.  Mom, crouching in the small crawl space handed me box after box as I stood half-way up the ladder.  I, in turn, would hand down each box to my dad who would stack them in piles on the garage floor.  Presently, there was a hold up in the assembly line and Dad announced that he was going to take a stack inside and disappeared, boxes in hand, through the kitchen door.  Meanwhile, a large flat box of ornaments began descending toward me and I took the cumbersome load in my hands.  Thinking I'd take it all the way down the ladder myself, I began inching backward only to find the box pulled my weight awkwardly to the side and that my elbows and belly were not the greatest at gripping ladder rungs!  Suddenly, I heard a voice below me. 

"I'm here!" 

I looked and saw no one.  Only brown cardboard filled my vision. Nonetheless, without a second thought, I dropped the cumbersome load into what might have just as well been thin air -- and it held, caught by Dad's ready hands.  It was only then that I saw him... his face peering up at me from behind the large box that was now his to deal with. 

"I'm here."  .... I had heard the words and instantly trusted. 
I couldn't see him.  I hadn't heard him come back through the door.  I had no sense whatsoever that anyone was below me.... My precarious predicament had captured all of my attention, yet in one fraction of a second I recognized his voice and knew that if he said he was there, he was.

Suddenly my heart filled with faith as the experience became a Word, quickened to my spirit.  I remembered some time ago praying to know God in a new way.  I said, "God, tell me one of your names... "  In my heart one word resounded:  HERE.  I said, "Yes, I know you're here, but what is your name?"  Again I heard firmly, "Here."  Here?  Could that really be a name of God, the ever present one? (smile)  I pondered this conundrum and only a few days later stumbled across a blessing, in the name of Jehovah-Shammah, The Lord Who is There (I guessed here vs there is a matter of perspective:  it's there to heaven; here to me)  In Ezekiel 48:35 God promises his presence to his exiled people, naming the new Jerusalem, "The Lord is There."

I know he wanted to remind me of this by letting me act out this quick living parable. "I'm here."  How often have the precarious predicaments of life overwhelmed my vision, making help seem so far away?  How often have I struggled under the awkward weight of circumstances, trying to make a safe landing on my own? How often have I neither seen nor heard nor felt the presence of Help, only to find it waiting expectantly for me drop my load into trustworthy hands? 

"I'm here."   I recognize his voice, and if he says he is here, he is.  I just need to let go.

Read someone else's wonderful message on the meaning of Jehovah Shammah.

Trust

Trust is an action.
It is a choice to
   not fear
      or worry
         or fret
             or control.

It is a cellular shift in
   the brain
      the shoulders
         the stomach
            the legs.

It is a purposed thought that
   changes neural pathways
       shifts cellular metabolism
           reduces tension
               shuts off cortisol.

It is a command to
   still the mind
      relax the muscles
         open the lungs
              release the fear.

It is a mindset that
    resists the devil
       breaks the cycle
           stirs up faith
              opens spiritual eyes.

Trust is an action.

To be or not to be?

To be or not to be?  That IS the question.

Will I BE happy     or     NOT be sad?
Will I BE healthy   or      NOT be riddled with disease?
Will I pursue life    or      avoid dying?
Will I hunger for righteousness      or      try to NOT sin too bad?

These seeming opposites are not two sides of the same coin.  They are completely different currency.
For me, starting again today,
I will choose
to be.

What will you choose?

The Word Manifested

A couple weeks ago I was laying in bed, just talking to the Lord about my life, when what looked like a Power Point screen dropped down on the back of my eyelids.  Words flashed on the beige-colored background:

"And the angel is"

Next, glowing, underlined letters scrolled in from the left:

"Pathways, Excellence"

I took this to mean that the Lord was sending me an angel (or maybe two), to help open up paths in my life and lead me in an excellent way.  I began thanking and praising God.  But, as much as I appreciate them, this post is not about angels.  I am deeply in love with Jesus and wherever there is revelation of Him is where I will hang my heart.  So, while this vision has a story in itself, I just want to share the simple revelation of (and appreciation for) the person, Jesus, that it led to. 

After seeing this image, I began telling the Lord I needed some kind of manifestation, at least a picture to go along with it.  "Pathways". . . "excellence,"  . . . these are just words.  How do I relate to that?  How can I cooperate with letters on a screen?  If this is real, then make it realistic! 

Then my thoughts turned to God himself.  What was it like to try to know God before He manifested Himself?  When He seemed like just words?  A few in the Old Testiment heard His voice, felt His wind, interacted with His Angel, or witnessed His fire.  But to the great majority of mankind, He was a Word written in a scroll or uttered from the mouth of a prophet or priest.  What faith they must have had to follow an incomprehensible God known only through words!  How long must they have cried out, "Lord, we need some kind of picture to go along with this! How can we cooperate with letters on a page?  If this is real, then make it realistic!"

And finally, He answered their prayer!

Even though Messiah was crucified before the foundation of the world, and all God intended for mankind could have been (and was) accomplished in the spiritual realm, He heard the cry of men to be able to relate, and He took His Word -- everything that was known about Him from all the ages -- and made it flesh.

He is the Word, written and spoken, and the Word is all that He is.  That alone is enough, but WE needed a manifestation beyond symbols, and so He gave it. When Phillip said that all He wanted was to see the Father -- God, the creator, that ancient invisible word he'd heard all his life and never quite been able to grasp -- Jesus said, Here I am.  If you've seen Me -- this flesh, this personality, this manifestation -- you have seen the invisible God that you crave. 

Now quantum physics is beginning to explain the spirit realm in unimaginable ways.  Words, appearantly both spoken and written, can evoke power to bring about changes in physical entities.  Scientists talk about the "fingerprint of God" at subatomic levels.  The line between spirit-energy and hard matter is becoming increasingly blurred.  It's amazing! And confusing.  I don't understand it, and this morning I wept as I realized how alone I would feel if I did not have a picture and stories of a Person who really lived on Earth, like me, who was the physical image of the non-physical God. 

I know Him now through the work of the Holy Spirit, and yes, because God has poured out his Spirit of revelation in these last days, I have encountered Him in manifestations that have turned my body to jello.  But would I recognize His face, or His nail-pierced hands, if He had not become flesh and died a physical death?  I would love to have an angel named Pathway manifested to me so that I may know all the meaning that is held in that word and how to relate to it.  Better still, all that the Word "God" means is already manifested in the person of Jesus, who not only became flesh on earth but continues to be manifested as a man in the heavenly realm. 

Yes, I believe it's possible to know and experience God through words, through nature and music, through a feeling inside us, and through miraculous signs and wonders.  I also believe that the most precious sign and wonder of all is that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld" - and continue to behold - "His glory" (John 1:14).