To Dance Like David

I have been burning to write this post for several days now.  It's been stirring in my mind and spirit and I've been mulling it over in my thoughts till I like it, so I'll share it with you.  I promise you it will make sense in the end.  It goes like this...

I have been puzzling like crazy over God's message to me the past year to "Be Still".  I do not know if it means to cease movement, to wait on Him, or simply refrain from worry.  Then I got a picture in prayer that I love.

First off, you must know that I love to dance--ballroom dancing, that is.  I've only ever gotten to learn the basic steps, but this past summer I was able to take lessons again for a month.  Three were with a private instructor, and then I took several group classes where you rotate partners.  Mind you, in my pride I thought I had a leg up on my lessons (pardon the pun) because I had danced a little before.  My instructor Mike quickly dispelled that myth in the first lesson, when he told me I moved well, but was not following his lead!  I honestly thought that I was, but apparently he felt the pull away from him as I was anticipating his movements before he even did them.  In our lessons, it even became a joke as I would sometimes guess what he was going to do just because he had done it before.  Then he would laugh and correct me, and tell me my problem was that I was too smart!  He told me I needed to stop thinking so much, and just respond to his movement... 

 At this point I do want to say something smart and throw in another concept I learned in literature class that is called kinesthetic movement.  In essence, it is "the sense that detects bodily position, weight, or movement of the muscles, tendons, and joints". 

Rewind five years ago and I am in Florence, Italy gazing intently at Michelangelo's statue of David.   I learned everything about it while I was there, and even bought a little book on it.  Theretofore I had only seen cheap kitschy magnets of David in paper doll clothes, or as a refrigerator magnet, or staring pensively out of a history book.  The fascinating thing about the statue in real life is that it changes expression as you move around it.  David's brows actually curl and contract and he gazes with a piercing, determined stare in his eyes.   Art scholars say that based on the physical position David is in and the way his weight is balanced, he could not have maintained this position in real life indefinitely, as he would have fallen over.  Rather, Michelangelo actually crafted David's position to be poised at the exact moment before he releases the shot in his sling that kills Goliath!  The statue of David is full of kinesthetic movement-- tendons tightened, muscles flexed in marble the precise moment before the release!

Returning  to the ballroom, one learns in dancing that following the lead is a tenuous art.  In dance position prior to movement, the woman's weight is balanced on her left side, while her right foot is slightly raised, poised to step when the man does.  While the woman is technically "still", she is full of kinesthetic movement, body balanced and positioned in such a way that she can literally take off! 

As I danced longer, I began to sense the way my instructor was moving, and because I was in a fluid position, could respond to his subtle pull or step or graceful turn as if we moved in unison.  While I thought over these things in prayer this week, the light started dawning--  Perhaps "being still" does not imply lethargy, but kinesthetic energy, being poised for movement!  Perhaps being still before the Lord is positioning my life and myself in such a way that I can respond to His lead.  Right now I can't anticipate His lead, although I am a good guesser with a vivid imagination.  I simply do not know what happens next.  I cannot lunge ahead or pull God along, as that would defeat the purpose of the dance.  I only want to respond to His gentle pressures, His suggested direction that gracefully carries me away...

 I pray as well that I would be like David, knowing that God will not leave me in this poised position forever, else I would topple.  Although sometimes every fiber of my being yearns for what is next, I know He knows when to say "Now!" , as being released, my sling finds its mark.  As Keith Green sang, "I want to be found ready".  Even so, Lord Jesus, come and lead.