Dancing Kids

“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make melody.” Psalm 57:7

One of my favorite poets William Stafford wrote, “Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn’t music.” Jesus told us that we must become as little children to inherit God’s kingdom. This verse speaks of an inner confidence or stability that enables us to worship because the world is filled with God’s handiwork.

Sarah, our 19 year old daughter, visited this weekend and brought her eight week old puppy Daisy with her. When not snoozing, Daisy was a bundle of energy and everything she encountered was worth investigation. She hopped around our much larger dog Penny as if they were long lost friends. Penny put up with it for a while, sometimes joining in the play and other times retiring irritated to her pillow. But Daisy’s presence brought out a bit of the puppy in our middle aged dog (she is seven, 49 in dog years).

The Psalmist discovered that having a heart that is well-grounded in God’s love and goodness opens us to the delight of creative worship. Even when life is filled with challenges or pain, a heart steadfast in God can continue singing. In fact, just before David expresses his desire to sing to the Lord, he says, “They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my path, but they have fallen into it themselves.” (Psalm 57:6).

Our ability to worship does not come from a naivety that disregards life’s difficulties. It is important to understand that the nature of worship is always concerned with the captivation of our heart with the goodness of God. Who hasn’t stood in the face of some beautiful force of nature and forgotten the troubles of the day. We look up on a cloudless night and catch a falling star near the horizon. We stand at the edge of Niagara Falls and are swept over in our spirits, lost in its power and splendor. We peer down the multi-layered cliffs of the Grand Canyon and catch our breath. One rarely discusses the problems of that day in such moments.

These are just the tiniest examples to illustrate a heart that is steadfast. We are caught up in wonder, our imagination transports us beyond the present pain and into the presence of the love which transcends all space and time. To know and fully trust the love of God is to have a steadfast heart. To remind ourselves, even when they “dig a pit in my path”, that God will always do right, creates an inner confidence.

To be able to sing and make melody in the middle of the storm is the highest form or worship. Just like Paul and Silas singing hymns and psalms at midnight in the dark blindness of a cold jail cell, we also can praise God even if it seems we are imprisoned or chained. These two men knew Jesus so well, were persuaded so deeply of His truth and experienced His love so intimately that nothing could quench their expressions of praise.

Perhaps we do well to strengthen our hearts in God. We may learn to sing heartily again, even above the noises of opposition. We may learn to honor God over all even when the odds seem against us. And, supposing singing is not our forte, you may observe us tapping our feet in time to Heaven’s rhythms even while facing personal pain.