Hi, my name is Lindy-Ann Hopley, founder of Beautiful Witness Ministries and I want to welcome you to God Today. The Lord isn’t somewhere up there, but He is actually God Today right here in our midst. I want to talk to you about dancing with the King.
As a young believe there are so many different things one wonders. Like, “What am I allowed to do? What am I not allowed to do? What pleases the Lord? What doesn’t please the Lord?” I remember before I was a Christian I was a dancing queen. I would be on the bar counters dancing, going crazy. I always loved dancing.
But, then becoming a Christian I was a little, “Okay, I think they only do ballet-style in the Church, and I don’t know if there is a place for anything else.” I really dedicated myself to the Lord, as well, when I got saved. I gave it all. I was in full-time ministry without anyone kind of knowing. I just served Him and left everything to follow Jesus.
I remember if you’re in the Church world Monday you have this event, Tuesday you got that, then you have life group, then it’s a prayer meeting. Your week can get very busy if you’ve said you are going to be a part of everything. The church is always on the move.
I remember finding out about these free dancing classes, ballroom classes at the University close to my house. And they do all kinds of different Latino, and salsa, and ballroom, and this, and that. I was like, “Oh! I really would like to do that.” But I was kind of like, “God, I don’t know how you feel about me giving up two of my Church service nights to do something so secular?” The Lord said to me, “Go to Matthew 14:6.” And I was like, “Okay…” So, I opened my Bible, and I am going to read for you what it says. “During Herod’s birthday party, the daughter of Herodias danced before Herod and all his distinguished guests. Which greatly pleased the king. So He said to her [verse 7], in front of all of them, ‘I give you my earth, ask of me anything you wish and it will be yours.’”
Now, if you know this scripture, it is actually a little bit of a hectic place. But the Lord took it out of context and said, “If a man who is evil loves his daughter’s dancing so much that he would offer her up to half the kingdom. Up to half what he owns. How much more does your Heavenly Father love His daughter’s dancing?”
And I was just like, “Really?!” I knew the Lord had said, “I love it when you dance for me.” In Ezekiel 3:17 it says, “The Lord dances violently spinning over His children.” We are made in His image, dancing, singing, adventure. All these things came out of the heart of the Father. It says in Psalms, “He sits In the heavens and laughs.” God is not just a boring box. He created the universe, He made your neighbor’s nose. He made monkeys and giraffes, and sunsets and sunrises. And He loves it when you express yourself because He sees His children in their fullness.
I remember going there, it was so great during these dance classes. I got to share the Gospel with all these different people who would probably never come to a Church and started leading them to Jesus. And I just want to pray right now. Maybe someone is watching and listening right now and you have some type of hobby that you have thought up. Ask the Lord. And don’t be surprised if He says “yes”! He is your Dad, Our Father who art in Heaven. And Father, I pray right now for every person that struggles to kind of connect their everyday lives to you. I pray for that amalgamation, that coming together, that Lord, you are so much more than just in the boring box. You are so much more than boring. You have said that you, “Came to give life and life in abundance.” I want to bless you with that. My name is Lindy-Ann Hopley. Bye, bye.