FEEL LIKE DANCING?

A Bible verse recently caught my attention:

“THE LORD YOUR GOD IS IN THE MIDST OF YOU, a MIGHTY WARRIOR, a SAVIOR [WHO SAVES]! HE WILL REJOICE [DANCE, SKIP, LEAP, and SPIN WITH JOY] OVER YOU WITH JOY; HE WILL REST [in silent SATISFACTION] {and} in HIS LOVE He will be silent {and} MAKE NO MENTION [OF PAST SINS, or EVEN RECALL THEM]; HE WILL EXULT OVER YOU WITH SINGING.” [Zephaniah 3:17 (AMP)]

The Hebrew word, ‘rejoice,’ means to “spin around under violent emotion.” The phrase “rejoice over you” literally means to “dance, skip, leap, and spin in joy.”

So, the latter part of this verse is more accurately translated, “He will dance over you with singing.”

I love the visualization that comes to my mind when I read this. God is portrayed as a mighty warrior, singing and dancing over me with shouts of joy.

It describes how a warrior must have felt in the Old Testament after winning a hard-fought battle and realizing the victory was his.

I can envision power, authority and strength exuding from him as he steps into a victory dance. I imagine whooping, hollering, leaping, dancing, tears, and victory shouts. It’s not hard to picture because we see it all the time. It’s not much different from a team hitting a winning field goal on the final play in the Super Bowl or striking the winning goal in the World Cup or a team winning the World Series.

For generations, singing and dancing have been the ultimate expressions of joy. Yet, many people perceive God as stern, gloomy and servile, but Zephaniah does not describe the Lord this way. The prophet portrays God as glad and happy as He delights in His creation — His sons and daughters — you and me! Therefore, we should not be ashamed or embarrassed to dance with joy since God is in our midst rejoicing over us.

Sometimes, I feel like God is dancing with me even as I revel in His presence. I rejoice in God as He rejoices in me. This is not the perception of God that many of us have.

So, stop what you’re doing.

Close your eyes.

Begin visualizing God’s love for us in light of this passage. “THE LORD YOUR GOD IS IN THE MIDST OF YOU, a MIGHTY WARRIOR, a SAVIOR [WHO SAVES]! HE WILL REJOICE [DANCE, SKIP, LEAP, and SPIN WITH JOY] OVER YOU WITH JOY; HE WILL REST [in silent SATISFACTION] {and} in HIS LOVE He will be silent {and} MAKE NO MENTION [OF PAST SINS, or EVEN RECALL THEM]; HE WILL EXULT OVER YOU WITH SINGING.” [Zephaniah 3:17 (AMP)]