PollyAnna's Definition of JOY: Dancing

If you haven’t read my previous post where I discuss and define JOY from my own perspective, I highly recommend that you read that post before you proceed with reading this post. Just a suggestion. :)

Dancing.  

1 Samuel 18:6

“When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals.”

Jeremiah 31:13

The young women will dance for joy, and the men—old and young—will join in the celebration. I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing.

Psalm 149:3

Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. (KJV)

My hap-hazard definition: “When it comes to JOY, it has to do with excitement, enthusiasm in Jesus that creates such a high that the person is unable to physically contain it, so he/she must do something physical for release. It's better than the high of any drug or human emotion/feeling. It can only come from God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit. And when it comes, you wanna dance, jump, sing, shout, leap, clap, play, eat, feast, cry, celebrate, praise the Lord, laugh, run, and even forgive!

There is no way to contain JOY in your physical body! It must come out in some way, shape, form or fashion!! If I'm happy, I might smile or simply just BE. But if I'm JOYFUL, I have to DO!! BEING simply isn't enough!!!”

I can’t dance. It’s true. I have no rhythm. This white girl seriously cannot dance. I watch ballet dancers or hip hop dancers or whatever other kinds of dancers and I am in awe at their moves. They are simply a-mazing! The only kind of dancing I have ever succeeded at doing is the kind done to a Richard Simmons exercise VHS/DVD. And that was after working out to the same DVD over and over and over again!

But I love Dance. I love to move my body. Sometimes I just can’t help but move in some form. It doesn’t matter that I have no rhythm. I just gotta move! I just gotta “Shake” (by MercyMe)! The JOY of the Lord gets ahold of me and I have to move my body in whatever way I can. (MercyMe also has a song called "Happy Dance" that fits appropriately! I just couldn't get it to fit in as part of my paragraph! LOL!)

I have to Dance before the Lord and let my JOY out! Yes, just like Happy Feet: "You must resist! Stand your ground" But the more the penguins watch Happy dance with JOY, the more they can't help but join him in dance!!! (Honestly, before that movie came out, did you ever in your wildest dreams ever think that you would enjoy a movie about penguins DANCING?! LOLOLOL!!! But we LOVED it!!!)

Do you remember in the 1980s the television show Perfect Strangers? My favorite part of that show was when Balky and Cousin Larry would do the "Dance of JOY"! It was a dance that Balky taught Larry that was from his country. Larry pretended to hate it, but the camera would always catch his smile of JOY as he couldn't help dancing with his beloved cousin. My sister and I actually wanted to attempt to learn the "Dance of JOY," but, as I said, I can't dance.

A week or so ago, I watched a video of a young man, Andrew, who went on The Greatest Dancer, a reality contest show. Andrew is special needs (autistic), but when he gets on the dance floor, everything disappears; he’s in another world and his JOY shows. As I watched the video, the evidence of his JOY in dance is clear and everyone watching him saw it, too. The applause for Andrew and his dance was thunderous. I have no idea what happened with Andrew as far as the contest is concerned, but I sure did get an awful lot of JOY out of watching that boy dance, as have millions of other viewers!

Another video that has gone viral as we have all watched is of an amazing young woman, Katelyn Ohashi, who does her dancing acrobatics with pure and utter JOY. One newsman said that she got her perfect 10 for her JOY! Just watch the video. Her JOY is in every move she makes, as well as in her teammates in the background, performing right along with her. I myself have watched the video a number of times because I love the smiles on her face! I revel in her JOY as she dances.

Have you ever danced and not felt wonderful afterward? Seriously. Maybe you’ve felt winded, of course, but dancing is a physical activity that brings great JOY and pleasure to a lot of people. If that isn’t true, then why are there so many bars that offer dancing? Why are there so many [young] people going out dancing [all night]? Why is the pull to go dancing so strong among our young? Why does the enemy use dancing as a siren call to our young people?

Dancing brings great JOY because JOY involves action; dancing is simply one physical expression of JOY. As I say in my definition, it’s better than any high or drug and the enemy knows that, so it’s easy for him to use dancing to get to our young people and use it to entice them to sex and all other means of turning away from a life with God. God created dancing for JOY and praise. But the enemy uses for his own glory instead.

Remember the movie Footloose? That’s what that movie is all about. Dancing is an expression of JOY. That’s what it should be. But the enemy uses it to disgrace the physical body and to make what is beautiful a very ugly act. We can’t stop dancing just because the enemy attempts to use something beautiful for evil. Kevin Bacon fights to prove that dancing is an expression of JOY, not a way to get in each others' panties. Granted, he is having sex with the preacher's daughter in a quite ironic twist to the story, but that is not because they're dancing.

God created dancing. It’s a JOYFUL act. It’s beautiful. It’s wonderful! It’s a physical expression of our JOY. The enemy wins if we stop dancing or if we dance suggestively. We have to dance with JOY and in the JOY of the Lord. We have to dance as David danced before the Lord! When we dance with JOY, we invite the presence of the Holy Spirit and we draw ever closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Just because we don’t have any evidence in the Bible that Jesus danced while He was a physical man on earth, that doesn’t mean He didn’t dance or that He didn’t want to dance. Jesus had a specific job, ministry, to do in the three years of ministry He had. We know He attended at least one wedding where He performed a miracle: He turned water into wine. We can assume that He danced at that wedding, but beyond that, it is difficult to imagine that He partied, let alone danced for a lot of people.

When you consider the fact that Jesus grew up in a village and would have known everyone and would have been very social, He had to have been to a lot of social gatherings. It is very plausible to imagine that Jesus would have danced at many social gatherings as He grew up and prepared for His ministry. It simply doesn't make sense to me that Jesus would have sat and watched everyone else enjoying the party or that He would have stayed home. Or that He would have gone to the Temple instead of the party.

Jesus knew the people. He interacted with them during His years prior to His ministry. He lived among them, doing the same things that they did, and that included weddings, birthday parties, celebrations, and especially all of the Jewish celebrations which would have included dancing because the Bible very clearly tells the Israelites to celebrate with dancing and tambourines!

I think that we’ve put Jesus and His disciples in a box and haven’t allowed for anything beyond what is written in the scriptures. The Bible tells us that if they had tried to write down everything that happened while Jesus was alive and in ministry, there simply wouldn’t be enough time or paper:

John 21:25 New Living Translation (NLT)
Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

Writing about Jesus celebrating simply wasn’t what was important enough to be written about because, for heaven’s sake, everyone goes to weddings and birthday parties and laughs and dances and celebrates. We wouldn’t need to have that part of Jesus’ life written about!

But yet, because it’s not written about, some theologians and other

believers want to claim that there wasn’t any room or time for Jesus to live a normal life--to live, to laugh, to love, to celebrate, to dance. No, I don’t believe that Jesus was ever married. That’s just plain heresy. But I do believe that Jesus celebrated life--that He LIVED, LAUGHED, LOVED, DANCED. I believe that Jesus felt JOY and that maybe, just maybe, Jesus even danced.

And that He danced with great JOY. . . .

Dance with Joy: Part 2

2 Samuel 6: 14, 21-22, NLT

14: And David danced before the Lord with all his might....

21: David retorted to Michal, "I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord. So I am willing to act like a fool in order to show my joy in the Lord.
22: Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this...!"

David tells Michal that he dances before the Lord because the Lord chose him above Saul and his descendants to be the leader of Israel--in other words, the King of Israel. I am sure David had many other reasons for dancing before the Lord considering the fact that God had saved David from both a bear and a lion and had given David victory over the giant Goliath, but I guess becoming King of a nation loved by God would hold precedence over everything else.

As I read David's retort to Michal, I can't help but think of my own reasons for dancing before the Lord, for showing my own Joy in the Lord.....(in no particular order):

1. I am here. I have almost died several times in my life, but yet here I am, 45 and still here. 

• When I was about 3 years old, I almost drowned. My parents were the directors of a church camp and Dad was repairing the olympic size swimming pool. While water was running into the deep end, my brother and I ran down the incline to touch our toes to the water. Dad was working at the other end of the pool, but when I slipped and went right under, you'd think he'd been standing immediately beside me considering how fast he got to me! All I remember is seeing the smiley face on his black sneakers.
• As a teenager, I choked on a piece of meat during supper. My brother had to perform the Heimlich and saved my life. 
• I had a car accident that should have killed me, but didn't. I stupidly tried to pass a school bus on the way home from school. When I realized I didn't have enough time to pass, I slammed on my breaks too hard which sent my car spinning in the road until it careened over the edge of a ravine, landing with the front end up at the top of the embankment. Miraculously, I walked away.
• In my early twenties, just days before my wedding, I had another car accident that should have killed me, but again, didn't. I had called my mom before I left work and asked if she wanted to meet me for lunch at my favorite place. She'd agreed. As I didn't want to eat in my work uniform, I decided to race home to change clothes real quick since I had a few minutes before she would be able to leave work. As I was coming up to a cool hill, I did my normal going too fast up and over the hill. Usually, that wasn't a problem, but this time, I didn't slow down enough in time to go around the sharp curve. I went off the right side of the road, jerked the steering wheel to the left, causing the car to swerve to the opposite side of the road where it hit a ditch, went front end over back--at least twice, took out a bush-like tree in the front yard of a friend's house, and landed upside down with the roof caved in so badly that had I been any taller, I would either have broken my neck or it would have killed me. I walked away from that one, too.
• At 29, while I was pregnant, my doctors found a cyst on my left ovary. At first, it was about the size a golf ball, if not a little smaller. Within 6 weeks, though, it grew to the size of a grapefruit. They determined that it had to come out, so they operated while I was 20 weeks pregnant! They called it a "tumor," but, Praise the Lord, it was "benign," whatever that means.
• In my late thirties, I had a severe infection from diverticulitis
  
  that resulted in my having emergency surgery where I was given an ostomy bag that I had to have for three months--just to save my life. (I've written about this one in detail in a previous post if you want to know more.)
• Since that time, I have dealt with other health issues such as chronic gastritis, two hernias--that I still have because they don't bother me enough to do anything about yet, severe back pain, severe shoulder pain, and others. I have also had mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.

2. God has restored my marriage. Just a few short years ago, I was ready to call my marriage Quits-ville. I was DONE. I hated my husband. I was angry with my husband. The very sight of him sent me into a rage. But yet God has given me a new love and respect for this man I once hated.

3. God has given me my Son, Samuel. Yes, he is a "rainbow baby."

4. Through each of my 3 child losses, God has been with me. Remember that "Footprints" poem? God has carried me a LOT over the past 17 years.

5. I have AMAZING parents who love and serve God with all their hearts, all their minds, all their souls, and all their strength and who love me unconditionally---and they demonstrate their love for me in a thousand different ways. I am truly blessed.

6. I have AWESOME siblings, Kenny (11 months older) and Katie (7 years younger), whom I love with every fiber of my being and who I know love me, regardless of whether we communicate with one another every day or only a few times a year.

7. I have WONDERFUL extended family members who make me laugh as no one else can. We enjoy being together and again, even if we don't see each other or communicate with one another for years, when we get together again, the laughter and the love has a strength that can only come from God above.

8. I have a job that I love. I know that I am doing what God called me to do in my teaching. Even at the highest moments of stress, I still enjoy my students.

9. I have a wonderful home with air conditioning and heat and all the other fantastic comforts that make a home.

10. I have a great car that I call "Lady Grey."

11. He delights in me!!!

12. He loves me so much that He gave His ONLY Son so that I might have eternal life with Him. 

13. He sings over me with Joy!!!  
Zephaniah 3:17New Living Translation (NLT)

17 "For the Lord your God is living among you.
    He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
    With his love, he will calm all your fears.[a]
    He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

And my list can go on and on because God has done so very much for me. Any one of the items on this list is sufficient to demonstrate the reason why I am willing to act the fool to show my joy in the Lord! Granted, I don't always dance to demonstrate my joy, but I do sing with great enthusiasm (if not perfect pitch). I play the tambourine that my Grandpa Keefer used to play in church. Honestly, I'd love to dance, too, but singing and playing the tambourine at the same time are challenging enough! Whenever I attempt to add dancing into the mix, I either have to stop singing or I have to stop playing the tambourine! I can't do all 3 at once!

I try to find other ways to demonstrate my joy in the Lord, such as doing a daily "What brings me Joy?" post on Facebook. I continually seek for and read scripture pertaining to Joy. I have read a dozen books or more on Joy. I try to spread His joy and to demonstrate His love to the best of my ability. 

God has done so very much for me. I have every reason in the world to praise Him and to be the fool to show my show in Him. I KNOW that I am here today and that I am able to choose Joy because He loves me and has always taken care of me.

Will (do) you make a fool of yourself to show your joy in the Lord? What are your reasons for rejoicing in Him? How do you demonstrate your joy?

Dance with Joy

2 Samuel 6: 14, 21-22, NLT

14: And David danced before the Lord with all his might....
21: David retorted to Michal, "I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord. So I am willing to act like a fool in order to show my joy in the Lord.
22: Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this...!"

This passage has always fascinated me. For one, because Michal, David's wife & Saul's daughter, is so incredibly judgmental of David dancing before the Lord. She rebukes him and tells him that he looks like a fool. Every time I read this, I want to reach through my Bible and slap Michal silly. David is her husband, the King of Israel. Apparently she wanted to marry David because she was in love with him. (Go back a few chapters for that part of the story.) David has been away from home and she hasn't seen him in quite a while. Yet she calls him a fool and tells him that not only is she embarrassed, but that he should be ashamed of himself, as well.

I get so sick and tired of judgmental people. I grew up in a variety of church denominations: Baptist, Pentecostal, Pentecostal Holiness, Free Will Baptist, Bapti-costal, and Pentecostal in the form of an Assembly of God. Many of my favorite worship services have been when we were encouraged to dance before the Lord with all our might or to shout and Praise the Lord and to rejoice enthusiastically in our Lord and Savior.

We had this one sweet man in a church we attended when I was about 10-ish, Mr. Jimmy Little. He was probably in his late seventies or somewhere in his eighties about this time, so he was definitely an elder of the church who was loved and respected by all who knew him. (He and his wife adored my little sister; they always had candy in their pockets for her and she always made sure to "visit" them at some point during each and every worship service.) One of the most precious things I remember about Mr. Little was his love for the Lord and his way of celebrating Him. Rather than just shout "Amen" during a service, he would do this high-pitched, "Whoop-whoop-Wooooooo!" To this day, almost 40 years later, I can still hear him just as clear as day rejoicing in the Lord in his own way and it brings a smile to my face.

Now if I enjoyed hearing Mr. Little praise the Lord in his own way, doesn't it stand to reason that the Lord Himself was pleased with Mr. Little demonstrating his joy in the Lord? You can't convince me otherwise. I witnessed Mr. Little's joy for myself. He is remembered fondly in our family as someone who gladly made a fool of himself in order to show His joy for the Lord!

Michal was completely wrong in her embarrassment of David, her husband. So much so that not only does David rebuke her and tell her that he is willing to act like a fool in order to show his joy in the Lord because of all that the Lord has done for him, but God, too, disciplines Michal as we read in verse 23 that "Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her life." If that isn't a firm statement from God Himself that Michal was in the wrong for criticizing David, I don't know what is! Remember: a woman's main role was to marry and provide sons for her husband, especially the wife (and daughter) of a King.

In the New Testament, Jesus Himself tells us that we shouldn't judge one another: "Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged" (Matthew 7:1-2, NLT). It saddens me how in our world today we continue to judge one another--especially those who enthusiastically demonstrate their love for the Lord, or show enthusiasm for anything, for that matter.

In my Sunday School class the other day, we were talking about how difficult it is to remain in a state of joy in the Lord. Once we begin to feel and experience the Joy of the Lord, someone inevitably comes along and does everything in his/her power to steal our joy.

I call them my "Joy Poppers." I imagine them with bows and arrows, shooting at my balloons of joy that God has given me. The loud Pop! whenever they successfully shoot a balloon is felt deep into my very soul and can send me into a depression--if I'm not careful. My ladies were telling me that they feel the same way. Just when they begin to feel true Joy, someone says or does something that makes them feel ridiculous for having felt any joy at all.

So, to all the "Michals" out there, remember that Michal is the one who was ultimately chastised for her judgmental criticism of King David, her own husband, who was dancing before the Lord with all his might. (Isn't it interesting that quite often it's our own family members who tend to be our "Joy Poppers"?) The enemy rejoices when we allow the judgments of others keep us from showing our joy in the Lord with all [our] might. We know that Joy comes from the Lord, those of us who believe, so when the "Joy Poppers" attempt to keep us from experiencing Joy, they are being used by the enemy.

I, for one, refuse to allow the Michals, the "Joy Poppers," keep me from showing my Joy in the Lord with all my might....How about you?

Works Cited

2 Samuel. Holy Bible New Living Translation. Slimline Edition. Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1996. Print.