Your part in a relationship with GodYour part in a relationship with God
Many people seem to think that because they are in a stable relationship, there is nothing they have to do to keep it However, this is far from the case. Anyone who has been married for a long time will tell you that their marriage needs to be worked at all the time.
This is the same in your relationship with God. He is not going to do everything for you. He will guide you, but you have a responsibility to do what He purposed you for.
Jeremiah 29:11
(11) For I know the purposes which I am purposing for you, says Jehovah; purposes of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
If you won't do that which He purposed you for, you are failing to uphold your part of the relationship.
It is a bit like having a dance partner and not dancing with them. I know that some people openly declare that they can't dance or don't dance. Maybe it is because they have two left feet and are unable to tap their feet and hold to a rhythm. Perhaps it's just because they have never learned to dance. But in truth, most people who declare that they can't dance mean that they feel uncomfortable trying to dance and just don't want to take the risk of looking silly.
I think, very often, we can be a bit like that in our relationship with God. We have forgotten the basic principles of dancing. OK, we nearly all know how to disco dance. But I'm not talking about making your moves to some music in an overcrowded night club. Dancing is about rhythm, movement and style with a partner. You can't just do your own thing, there are set steps that you have to take together. There are rises and falls, twists and turns walks and runs that you take together sometimes side by side, sometimes hand in hand and sometimes in a close embrace. In short, dancing together is an intrinsic set of movements that two people make in time with the music that is playing.
Dancing is also a form of expression. Many different dances can be seen as an expression of the music that is playing. Some are an expression of the relationship between the two people. Some are an expression of the story that is being told in the song or the music.
Whatever dance you are doing, there are a set of rules that have to be learned. You need to learn who is leading and who is following, you need to learn how to hold on to your partner and you need to learn not to step on each other's toes. You also need to learn when to sit a dance out.
However, more than all of this, you need to learn to understand your dance partner. It's no good expecting to catch your dance partner if they don't know that you wanted them to swoon into your arms. Sometimes, it takes longer to understand your dance partner than it does to learn the dance.
In many ways, dancing is like our relationship with God. We have to learn to hear the music that is playing; to understand the season that we are in spiritually. We know that God is leading the dance, but if we are not responsive to His leading, we will slip out of His hand at the first turn. When this happens, we find ourselves flailing around trying to find Him again.
We have to learn His rhythm; we have to keep in time with Him. Remember, He is our partner in this dance. It is no good if we try to do some classy pirouette if He is holding our His hands for a close embrace.
It is also important that we practice the steps that we learn. One quick explanation does not create a skill. They say that practice makes perfect and this is so true. If we won't practice the steps that we take with God, how can we dance with him when it matters.
God's purpose for us is for us to be a partner with Him in the dance of life. He has purposed for us to be with Him for all eternity. However, the word 'purpose' here does not mean that He has done it for us. That is His intent for us, but we have to get there, so the sooner we learn the steps the better.
Philippians 2:12
(12) Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, cultivate your own salvation with fear and trembling.
We have to be a partner with Him to dance the dance. We cannot do it on our own. We cannot achieve it by doing our own thing whenever we want. Remember we have to learn to keep to His rhythm and not ours.