A God Who Dances and Sings
A few weeks ago, I was startled awake at 6:49 am by a birdsong.
It wasn’t the typical twitters or caws I normally wake up to, but a series of long, sustained notes that I could’ve plucked out on a piano.
It was so surprisingly distinct that my first thought was – is this some sort of mating call? Some sort of special communication to a flock? Who was it for? I sat upright, grabbed my phone, hit the record button, and fell back asleep. I stress-dreamed that the whole encounter hadn’t been real and that the files were nowhere to be found. But I was relieved to find them when I woke up later.
I played the song to confirm…it was real!
And the bird sang back.
I played the song a few more times, and each time the bird faithfully responded. I was so enchanted by this exchange that I hopped out of bed and walked outside to look for him.
I never found him; but it was an incredible feeling to know that somewhere out there, someone had heard me. And someone had sang a special song just for me.
I contemplated this encounter and remembered that someone had once told me that God sings over us. I wasn’t familiar with this, so I looked up the verse.
Zephaniah 3:17 says: “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”
In fact, according to Goodness of God Ministries, “rejoice” here can be translated as: to spin around (under the influence of any violent emotion). Spinning around because you’re overwhelmed by emotion? Sounds like dancing to me!
So now, Zephaniah 3:17 says “[God] will [dance] over you with singing.”
Not only does he sing…he dances! Have you ever taken time to imagine God so overwhelmed that he’s spinning around in a violent state of delight? That he’s shouting songs of joy over you?
I must confess that when I think of God, I think of someone who sits passively as He listens to me pray. I think he might solemnly nod or shake his head once in a while, but that’s it. In fact, when I’m praying or practicing presence, I often picture something calm – like a lake or a quiet old man. I’ve never once reflected on a God who is practically jumping up and down as He sings boisterous songs of love over me.
In fact, He first calls us to sing. Here are verses 14-15, some of the verses immediately preceding:
“Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel. Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.”
Earlier in the passage, God has just declared a time of judgement. But in these verses, He’s promising a time when judgement will end and redemption will come. In those days there will be gladness and singing – we will sing (verse 14) and then He will sing (verse 17)!
As Christians, we’ve reached a stage of redemption too! We are the people who are meant to sing, and the people who will hear God sing (and dance) back to us.
That’s something that’s hard for me to process. Honestly, I think the idea of a dancing and singing God is so foreign to me that I don’t know if I would’ve understood it apart from the bird encounter.
It was a real-life demonstration of the musical connection I have with God. I heard a special song that was sung to me, and I sang that special song back. I felt seen and heard – something out there was attentively tuning into me, and I was attentively reflecting back.
What would it be like if I remembered that God was like this? That he doesn’t just solemnly sit, but sometimes He dances and sings? That He hears me when I call, and Has special songs of love to sing back to me? What would it be like for you?
God expresses His love for us artistically, and He invites us to do the same!
