The other day, my husband and I were talking about the challenges of following God, of growing in Him, even of spiritual warfare.
“It’s hard.” That’s what so many people say. That’s what I’ve said many times. And it’s true, isn’t it?
Being a good Christian is hard. Choosing the right thing every . . . single . . . time is hard. Putting others above yourself is hard. Remembering in every moment to think of God’s will above your own is—you guessed it—hard.
But as we were talking, David had an observation that really resonated with me.
It’s hard because we make it hard, because we refuse to give up control. Because we think we have to be the one doing all the work. It’s hard because we want to hang on to our own will, not fully relinquish it to God.
It’s hard because we think we have to fight the battle under our own strength. Put on that Armor of God and charge into the fray, just hoping He’ll have our back.
David pointed out, though, that it doesn’t have to be that way at all. Certainly not all the time. He made this analogy, and it’s one I love.
All we really have to do is be a kid dancing with our daddy. We have to step up onto His feet. We have to put our hands in His, or even wrap them around His waist. And then we just have to let Him dance.
Isn’t that a powerful image? We don’t have to fight every minute of the day. We don’t have be weighed down and burdened by the challenges. True surrender to God’s will doesn’t mean punishment or drudgery or even a constant feeling of sacrifice (though of course, there is sacrifice in following Him above our own desires).
True surrender looks a lot like the trust of a child dancing with Daddy. True alignment of will looks like putting our feet on His, our hands in His. And then . . . then living this Christian life looks a lot like a dance. It feels a lot like laughter and joy and security and peace.
Because we know that He knows the steps. We know that He’ll move us exactly where we need to go. We know that when we’re so fully aligned with Him, He actually does the work—we just need to stay there, doing it with Him. We need to make sure we don’t stumble off onto our own path or take our fingers away from His.
And we need to keep looking up at His face. That’s the sweetest thing about being a child dancing with Daddy, right? The way they tilt their faces up to regard their loving Father. That’s how they keep from falling away.
That’s how we do the same.
Keep looking up into His precious face. Keep hanging on to His nail-pierced hands. Keep your feet firmly planted on his swift-moving ones. And feel the rhythm of the dance of grace.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
A few years ago I was at a conference and during a quiet time I was thinking about the song Kim Walker Smith sings-it’s called “ dance” and I said as I was worshiping God I’m dancing for you and I felt the whisper of his voice say I want to dance WITH you , it was a beautiful moment
A MOST BEAUTIFUL analogy!! Please thank David for me and thank you for posting it so it would help your readers too. ❤️
Thank you for reminding me to put on my dancing shoesQ
This was sooooooooooo timely for me. I have finally really started to take the surrender part to heart and practice it. I agree with what you have said here.
As I surrender, I am learning also to make everything about love – God’s kind of love…the love that considers the other person first. When I start to respond the wrong way to something, I get the question in my mind and heart -What would love do. It changes everything.
Thank you for your thoughts and your writing.
This was sooooooooooo timely for me. I have finally really started to take the surrender part to heart and practice it. I agree with what you have said here.
As I surrender, I am learning also to make everything about love – God’s kind of love…the love that considers the other person first. When I start to respond the wrong way to something, I get the question in my mind and heart -What would love do. It changes everything.
Thank you for your thoughts and your writting.
I LOVE this post – Dancing with God. The Christian walk is hard and our sins make it even harder. But if we stay cloe to HIm, as in dancing, and rest in His arms, it is so much easier. That’s why I meet with HIm dialy and we alk and sing and recite Scripture. I love my friend and Dad so much!!!
This is a beautiful post and so true. Even though we know the scriptures about not worrying, trusting God, in God’s timing, and many others, it is hard to let go of our human desire to control or think we have to be in charge. I can think of many times that I was sick with worry, but God worked everything out, and sometimes in surprising ways. I pray faithfully, I know God works His will for our benefit, but you are so right that it is HARD.
I love your husband’s analogy about dancing with Daddy and remember not only dancing with Daddy, but dancing on Daddy’s feet. I can see my daughter dancing on her Daddy’s feet and dancing with him at her wedding. You know my current struggle, Roseanna, but I am amazingly at peace most of the time. I know that peace comes from God. Thank you! This is always good to think of.