The Important Truth About Happiness and the Divine Dance

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I’d like to tell you about something I call the “divine dance” and something I believe is an important truth about happiness.

It’s a fact of life that if you believe something long enough it becomes your truth. It may not even be close to reality – but it’s your truth.

Deeply planted, rooted, and growing false “truth.”

People believe all kinds of falsehoods simply because they have mentally affirmed those things again and again and again.

Many of our beliefs begin in childhood and take root with time and repetition.

Here’s a little truth about me…

I hate lies. Not just a little. I REALLY hate lies.

So, I’m working my way down to the roots by digging up some of the lies people have been growing and watering for years.

So, let’s take a look at two cultural “truths” that are untrue…

1. The pursuit of happiness is the greatest goal.

Look at one of the things Jesus said about happiness…

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad!”

Matthew 5:11–12a

Do you really believe being mocked and persecuted would make you happy? I think most people would disagree with the Lord’s words but for those of us who KNOW, TRUST, and LOVE Him … happiness is based on God’s eternal promise to give His followers peace and joy.

The truth is Jesus knew that the world’s idea of happiness is a very fragile goal. It’s fickle, fragile, and easily lost putting us in danger of spending our lives chasing an unattainable illusion.

And connected to happiness is a lie that I have had to uproot often…

2. Other people’s happiness is my responsibility.

Some people believe it is your job or mine to provide their happiness. It might be a child, spouse, parent, friend, neighbor, or co-worker.

That may be their belief but It’s not the truth … you and I have not been given the ability to produce happiness in those who choose unhappiness.

No matter how much we want them to be happy. How much we love them or care about their well-being, we don’t have the power to provide persistent happiness.

I used to call it my efforts to make everyone happy – doing the “dance.”

My “dance” was doing whatever I could to be as fun, enthusiastic, and entertaining as I believed necessary to make the people I cared about happy. It took decades but I eventually learned that is an exhausting and impossible goal to achieve consistently.

Scot McKnight’s book – 40 Days Living the Jesus Creed opened my eyes to the truth about happiness and the divine dance: “The Father who dances endlessly with the Son and the Spirit is the same Father who persistently yearns for us to join the dance.”  

He writes—”Theologians often call the ‘oneness’ shared by the Father, Son, and Spirit, the ‘dance of the Trinity.’ God is love. The music of God is love. Anyone who loves God and loves others is dancing … to love is to walk onto the divine dance floor.”

I was trying to dance on my own with an impossible goal. So, I prayerfully asked the Lord to help me join the divine dance … which turned my focus from pleasing to loving.

I set 2 specific goals.

• To love God.
• To allow God to love others through me.

Love does what’s best not necessarily what pleases. Love gently speaks the truth even if it isn’t what someone wants to hear. And love shares the truth about godly happiness that lasts.

Love understands that persistent happiness is found in God’s plans and purposes not temporary feelings. When we join the “divine dance” following along with the music of God and moving to the beat of His love—we learn that the truth about happiness is that the best happiness comes from joy rooted in God’s love.

I want that! And I want that for the people I love!

The Lord taught me that when you and I “dance” to provide temporary happiness, we might interfere with His loving invitation for someone to join the “divine dance.” And we might also encourage our loved ones to rely on us rather than on God.

So, I want to stop dancing for the world and focus on joining the “divine dance” and I want to invite everyone I know to join me.

Let’s pray…

A Prayer to KNOW the Truth About Happiness
and Join the Divine Dance

Father God, You are so very gracious and good. You are the source of joy and happiness. You gave us a guide for life so that we could know the best way to live. You gave us what we need to know the truth about happiness.

Please forgive us. Please forgive me. I have too often listened to the enemy’s lies and believed that the “truth” is what I want it to be not what You say it is. I have interfered with my loved ones relying on You in my effort to make them temporarily happy.

Thank you for showing us the “divine dance” of Your love. You created all things. You sent Jesus to save us and the Spirit to guide us in the TRUTH. You are Triune God – Three in One moving together in perfect love. And You want us to join You.

What a humbling and beautiful image. My heart and soul receive Your outstretched hand and move onto the dance floor of Your love. I pray that by Your grace, You will make it my heart’s desire to lovingly dance with You eternally and make it my goal to invite everyone I know to receive Your offer to dance as well.

Your grace, mercy, and LOVE are beyond my ability to fully comprehend but I thank You and praise You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Solomon understood what it takes to be happy…

Where there is no word from God, people are uncontrolled, but those who obey what they have been taught are happy.

Proverbs 29:18

And the Psalmist wrote…

Lead me in the path of Your commands, because that makes me happy.

Psalm 119:35

The truth about happiness is that the closer you and I are to the will of God the happier we will be.

And one more thing…

I don’t picture the disco era when I think of the divine dance. I imagine being held by our perfectly loving God moving and swaying to the music and the beat of His heart. Can you picture a more peaceful or blissful scene?

May the Lord bless you as you take His hand and join the divine dance.

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