Since the last newsletter I have been blessed with the wonderful privilege of preaching in a number of our churches and getting to know them better. As a consequence I’ve discovered that there are many in our district who are praising and glorifying God in all circumstances. Some are rejoicing before God for the opportunity to share the gospel and to see people coming to faith. Others are rejoicing before God in the midst of deep trials and suffering like the loss of their health or the death of a loved one.

In Psalm 37, David writes, "Delight yourself in the Lord." He wrote this exhortation to us in a time of deep personal trial. But David also delighted himself in the Lord in the midst of joy as well.

What does it look like for you and me to delight ourselves in the Lord? Well, one way David delighted himself in the Lord was to dance. The first time scripture records David dancing before the Lord was in 2 Samuel. He was rejoicing because God was allowing the Ark of the Covenant to be returned to God’s people after being in the hands of the Philistines.

In 2^nd Samuel 6: 13 - 16a we read, "When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets. As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And… she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD."

Now I realize that it is hard for some of us to think of dancing before the Lord. Why some of us were brought up to believe that any dancing was sinful! But dancing is a natural form of expressing delight - just like writing and painting and singing.

You see, when some people get excited or deeply moved, they have no choice! They gotta move - they gotta dance! I’ve seen people dancing in their cars as they sit behind the wheel. I’ve seen people dancing at a championship basketball or football game. If their team wins the championship, they’re so excited, so thrilled - they gotta dance! They start jumping around, waving their arms, nodding their heads - they gotta dance!

Why do some of us think it so strange then for David to be dancing before the Lord? Why do some of us have trouble even imagining ourselves dancing before the Lord like David did - let alone actually doing it? But there are some of us who DO dance before the Lord, aren’t there? You know who you are. You’re at home all alone, out of eyesight of the kids, and now that worship CD you’re playing is really getting to you. You’re delighting in the Lord and as the words and music of worship stir your heart - you begin to move - you begin to dance.

Some people dance before the Lord with their whole body - like David. They dance with their feet, their legs and their arms. Others of us dance before the Lord by waving our arms or clapping our hands. Some of us just bob our heads and others merely tap their foot. Still others just dance in their hearts. And you know what? All of those ways of dancing are deeply pleasing to the Lord if they are done in response to His goodness. There is no one right way to dance before the Lord. But my friends, it is important to dance. In fact, if we never dance before the Lord, even if just in our hearts, then we are robbing God of the worship He deserves.

What drove David to dance wildly before the Lord? God’s goodness. David, perhaps more than any other person in Scripture, understood God’s goodness - even in the midst of great trials. He meditated on God’s goodness, he reflected on it and he cherished and treasured it!

Are we cherishing God’s goodness - even in the midst of trials? We should be. Because even in the midst of trials God delights us with the beauty of sunshine and with deep blue skies dotted with puffs of pure white clouds. He delights our eyes with sunsets and beautiful flowers and leaves changing color in the fall. He delights us with the beauty of white snow blanketing the earth in winter.

He delights our tongues with the exquisite taste of luscious fruit and foods of all kinds. He delights our ears with the music of songbirds and with the calls of his creatures and with the gifts of songwriters and musicians. He delights our noses with the sweet scents of lilacs and honeysuckle - with the fresh smell of newly fallen rain. He delights our touch with the softness of a lamb and with the texture of a leaf. God delights our hearts with the cry of a newborn baby - with that child’s first words and first steps and with the amazing transformation of little awkward boys and girls into young men and women.

And God delights our souls with the gift of forgiveness and eternal life through His Son. He takes our breath away with answered prayers. He gives us joy in the face of sorrow, peace in the midst of turmoil, hope in the midst of despair and purpose in the midst of chaos.

So what is my hope for all of you? What is my hope for our district? Why, I hope we dance. I hope we dance!