His Applause, all that matters
King David finally was
bringing the Ark of the Covenant home. It was an exciting day and the king was
overcome with joy in the Lord. As the procession entered the city, he started
to dance, then spin, and then… he shed his royal robe! Right there in the
street he was down to his royal underwear, leaping, dancing, and shouting the
praises of God. Some people were delighted by his enthusiasm, but not all! "Michal daughter of Saul (David’s wife) watched from a window. And when she saw King
David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart."
(2 Samuel 6:16, NIV) When he got back to the palace, he expected to share his
joy. Instead, she met him with her contempt. “How the king of Israel has
distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his
servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
Whole-hearted worship, radical
surrender, and great sacrificial service will inspire some to join you in
adoration and worship. When you devote yourself fully to the Lord, expect critics
to raise their voices and even some Christians will come to despise you. Your
devotion will be a silent rebuke. It’s simply too hard to say, “I refuse to
sell out to God that radically. I just don’t want to do it.” It so much easier to turn on the true worshiper,
to criticize his devotion and/or his motive. That’s why each of us must look
only for the applause of the audience of One. His approval must be enough for
us. It was for David. When his wife
mocked his worship, he told her: “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather
than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the
Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more
undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes." (2
Samuel 6:20-22, NIV)
If you listen to the critics,
you will cease to love God as you should. Instead of dancing for His applause,
you will become the puppet dancing on the strings pulled by others. I am not
suggesting that we become self-absorbed, so insistent on doing our thing with
God that we forget civility. Our deepest intimacy and our greatest sacrifice generally
should be reserved for times alone with God. Jesus warned that we can turn
prayer and worship into a performance designed to impress others. Our only
reward, He said, is their admiration. Heaven falls silent when we start to
dance for the crowd! But, there will be
moments when the Spirit of God sweeps over us and we just forget ourselves,
enthralled by His love. In those moments, we must gently and humbly remind our
critics, "Am I now trying to win the
approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still
trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians
1:10, NIV)
Here is the word from the Word.
“Since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for
us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured
the cross, scorning its shame, and
sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such
opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose
heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3, NIV)
_______________
Undignified
I will dance! I will sing!
To be mad for my King.
Nothing, Lord, is hindering
The passion in my soul.
And I'll become even more
Undignified than this!
Some would say it's foolishness, but
I'll become even more
Undignified than this!
© 1995 Thankyou Music (Admin.
by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
Matt Redman
CCLI License No. 810055
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