The Lord of the dance…I will lift up my hands

I decided to go down to the valley streams where the orchards of the king grow and mature. I longed to know if hearts were opening. Are the budding vines blooming with new growth? Has their springtime of passionate love arrived? Come back! Return to us, O maiden of his majesty. Dance for us as we gaze upon your beauty. Why would you seek a mere Shulamite like me? Why would you want to see my dance of love? Because you dance so gracefully, as though you danced with angels!  Song of Songs 6:11, 13 TPT

“What kind of man did you see when you went out into the wilderness? Did you expect to see a man who would be easily intimidated?  From the moment John stepped onto the scene until now, the realm of heaven’s kingdom is bursting forth, and passionate people have taken hold of its power.  “Don’t you understand? How could I describe the people of this generation? You’re like children playing games on the playground, yelling at their playmates, ‘You don’t like it when we want to play Wedding! And you don’t like it when we want to play Funeral! You will neither dance nor mourn.’  Yet when the Son of Man came and went to feasts and drank wine, you said, ‘Look at this Man! He is nothing but a glutton and a drunkard! He spends all his time with tax collectors and other affluent sinners.’ But God’s wisdom will be visibly seen living in those who embrace it.”  Matthew 11:7, 12, 16-17, 19 TPT

Looking intently at His followers, Jesus began His sermon. “How enriched you become when you are poor, for you will experience the reality of God’s kingdom realm. “How favored you become when you are hated, excommunicated, or slandered, or when your name is spoken of as evil because of your love for me, the Son of Man. “I promise you that as you experience these things, you will celebrate and dance with overflowing joy. And the heavenly reward of your faith will be abundant, because you are being treated the same way as your forefathers the prophets.      Luke 6:20, 22-23 TPT

O God of my life, I’m lovesick for you in this weary wilderness. I thirst with the deepest longings to love you more, with cravings in my heart that can’t be described. Such yearning grips my soul for you, my God! I lie awake each night thinking of you and reflecting on how you help me like a father. I sing through the night under your splendor-shadow, offering up to you my songs of delight and joy! With passion I pursue and cling to you. Because I feel your grip on my life, I keep my soul close to your heart. These liars will be silenced forever! But with the anointing of a king, I will dance and rejoice along with all his lovers who trust in him. Psalms 63:1, 6-8, 11 TPT

Break forth with dancing! Make music and sing God’s praises with the rhythm of drums! For he enjoys his faithful lovers. He adorns the humble with his beauty and he loves to give them the victory.  Psalms 149:3-4 TPT

Then he broke through and transformed all my wailing into a whirling dance of ecstatic praise! He has torn the veil and lifted from me the sad heaviness of mourning. He wrapped me in the glory garments of gladness. How could I be silent when it’s time to praise you? Now my heart sings out loud, bursting with joy— a bliss inside that keeps me singing, “I can never thank you enough!”  Psalms 30:11-12 TPT

And the princes of God’s feasts will sing and dance, singing, “Every fountain of delight springs up from your life within me!”  Psalms 87:7 TPT