Since the beginning of this blog, Brad has asked members of the praise team to write posts, encouraging us to write about the technical side of music, how God is using music in our lives, or even a blog post about one of our favorite songs. So here it is, my long awaited blog post about one of my favorite songs, “Lord of the Dance”. For those of you not familiar with this song, please do not automatically start thinking about Michael Flatley dancing around on the stage. They are two different things with only a title for any type of connection.
I first heard “Lord of the Dance” when I was in college and thought it had a great tune. (It’s also the tune of the old Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts”). However, I think the reason I like the song so much is because it tells a story from beginning to end. From creation, to the calling of the disciples and the resurrection all poured into one song. I’m just going to assume that most people have never heard the song (gasp!), so I’ve attached a link to the lyrics so you can see what I’m talking about.
I often take the opportunity to ask (beg) Brad to sing this song and he has promised me that he will sing it one day...at my funeral. (For those of you who are still around when I am called home, hold him to this promise!) It has become some sort of joke between us, which has expanded to a joke between me and most of the praise team and choir. Laugh as they may, it doesn’t change my love of this song.
A few weeks ago, we were attending services while visiting family in Georgia. The pastor was preaching from Matthew 8 about Jesus calming the storm and spoke about the often overlooked portion of this scripture where it says Jesus got into the boat and His disciples followed him. They didn’t ask questions, they just followed His lead.
At the end of the service, the pastor shared a story about how much he liked to dance and he wanted to teach his daughter how to dance. As he pointed out, Augusta is one of those towns where you can find resources to teach your kids anything, but he wanted to be the one to teach his daughter, so he rented a space and convinced a few other dads to bring their daughters and he taught them how to shag, foxtrot and waltz. He said that he told his daughter, “I’ll lead. . . just follow me.” And then he said it. He said, “in the same way, Let Jesus be the Lord of the Dance”. In other words, let Him lead, you just follow.
I’ve thought about this song and the pastor’s words many times since that day. How often do I truly let Jesus lead? Am I allowing Him to lead as I follow in my actions, words, deeds and even (or especially) in my worship? How often does He lead me to do something and I fail to follow? Jesus can lead “wherever you may be” in your life if you will just let Him. So tell me, would you like to dance?
Shelley
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