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With All Our Might
Recently I participated in an extraordinary homecoming at Sligo
church, where I spent three years as associate pastor for evangelism. It was a grand reunion reminiscent of
heaven as I reconnected with friends I had not seen in almost two decades and sang of God’s great
faithfulness. I was dancing in my heart.
Since joining the Adventist Church more than 30 years ago, I’ve heard the caustic criticism that dancing
is the sole domain of the devil. But a review of the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy writing shows that there is
dancing, and then there’s dancing.
A diligent study of His Word reveals that God loves dancing (see Ps. 149:1-4). He Himself put rhythm
in our bodies and the beat in our hearts so that when we hear the sweet music of grace, we can respond
naturally to the cadence of holiness and the melodies of salvation.
Dancing was a significant part of community life and worship in the Old Testament. Jubilation or
exuberant rejoicing and singing were always accompanied by dancing to the rhythm of tambourines
and clapping. This moving expression of commitment was consecrated as part of a Jewish
wedding ceremony and performed by the groom after vows of fidelity to his bride. It inspired the
sons of Korah to pen a poem called “A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage” (Ps. 45).
King David danced vigorously when he restored the ark, despite the denouncement of his wife
(see 2 Sam. 6:14-16). Ellen White cautions against conjuring images of worldly dancing when we
read or hear this story.* She wrote that there was nothing in David’s dancing that is comparable to
or will justify modern dance. The popular dance of our day draws no one nearer to God, nor does it
inspire us to purer thoughts or holier living. It degrades and corrupts. It unfits men and women for
prayer or the study of God’s Word, and turns them away from righteousness into ways of revelry. Morals
are corrupted, time is worse than wasted, and often health is sacrificed.
David’s dance was an act of sacred worship steeped in gratitude with songs of a nation saved by grace
through faith in God. It wasn’t some halfhearted moves performed with reluctance like a despised duty.
It was a dance full of energy and excitement compelled by the Holy Spirit, energizing David from his
head to the soles of his feet. He was inspired from the depths of his soul to the marrow of his mind. His
moves were spontaneous with passion as one who is a man after God’s heart and realizes that he is.
When we perform our religious rituals, we should do them with all our might. Conductors have dislocated
shoulders while leading orchestras. Singers lose their voice while practicing for a performance.
Athletes suffer concussions, break bones, and sprain joints while intensely pursuing their sport. But we
seem to lack the passion or purpose to stretch beyond our natural capacities when we worship the Lord.
When we sing, we must sing with all our might. When we pray, we must pray with all our hearts. When
we study Scripture, we must do so with all our mind, soul, and spirit. And when we sense the powerful
presence of the same Holy Spirit who motivated David to dance, I hope we’ll have the courage to rejoice with
mind and body.
The New Testament use of the term agalliao suggests that some of God’s good saints may be in for a great
surprise. The word describes the passionate dance of a bridegroom. And Jesus did it, despite the dismay of
His disciples (see Luke 10:17-21, where the word is translated “rejoice”). And the redeemed, it seems, even
those reluctant to dance on earth, will dance before the Lord at the marriage supper of the Lamb (see Rev.
19:7-9, where agalliao appears).
I pray that you’ll be at that great homecoming to shake off the awkward fear that inspires frigid sanctity,
and dance with Jesus in glory! n
Hyveth
Williams
*
See Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1890), p. 707.
Hyveth Williams is a professor of homiletics at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary.
www.AdventistReview.org | September 19, 2013 | (843) 27