Dancing With God

Dancing With God

I absolutely love watching Dancing with the Stars with my daughter Gabby.  We love to watch and re-watch  certain dancers (which drives my husband crazy)and of course critique all the wrong moves, etc.  We do this because we are such great dancers ourselves...NOT!  One season in particular featured NFL football star Hines Ward.  In the finale he made a dramatic statement, he said "Kim (his dancing pro) was so patient with me, she took an ex-football player, who never danced a step and guided me to be a winner."  This reminded me of a passage of scripture...Psalm 23.  I love this chapter of Psalms.  I love the comparison of us to sheep, being cared for and directed by our Shepherd, the Lord Almighty.

I am reading a book called "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller.  His book is so incredible that I am now reading it for the 3rd time (sometimes it takes that many times to sink in). Mr. Keller writes from an incredible viewpoint, he was an actual sheep ranch owner in Africa for many, many years until God called him into full time ministry.  So as he, verse by verse, breaks down the passage, he speaks from first hand knowledge.

One jewel he pointed out in his book was that God guides us with His rod and His staff. He said that God aptly compared us to sheep as they are stupid, stubborn, hard to work with, etc so the shepherd must carry a rod and staff (Psalm 23:4).  This is to keep the sheep in line, to guide them and teach them for instance where the good grass is and where the poisonous grass is. The shepherd often has to prod the sheep to the place where they can get the best water or even safety. It is because of his rod and staff that they feel safe with him.

Christ calls us his sheep and that gives me so much comfort. I know that God is with me to guide me and prod me to live a life that is His will. He wants us to have a life of abundance, a life of peace and a life of harmony and so much more, but that means we need to submit to Him and stay close to Him and His word so that we can be guided and prodded.  It is almost impossible to guide and direct a sheep from a distance.  The shepherd must walk beside his sheep in order to take care of them.  Left on their own will surely lead to their demise.

Soooo...are you staying in the word daily, what are your priorities in life in terms of spiritual growth. Don't stray from the shepherd, stay close to Him. Maybe you need a few good wackes...wait a minute...that's the devil. Our Shepherd is a loving shepherd who gently takes care of us with love, compassion, sympathy, etc.

Also, just like Hines had to submit everyday to his teacher Kim so that she could guide him toward weekly success and ultimately to win the mirror ball trophy, we have to submit to God daily. God wants us to dance with him, let him be your guide, your teacher.  Each of us is promised in essence our own "mirror ball trophy" and it is waiting in heaven for you. So get busy, open that Bible and stay close to your heavenly Shepherd.