Hi Pastor John,
Lee Ann’s response to Preacher Clark’s pearl about hiding your talent was exactly what the Holy Spirit was showing me recently. I just want to share something that the Lord has allowed me to discover about myself.
In my wildest dreams and imaginations, I never would have thought I had a passion for dancing! Jesus really placed that desire in my heart to want to do it. Dancing, in the flesh, surely was not my forte, as I was terrible and I knew it! But when there’s a place in Christ, where you are liberated and free to dance in the spirit, it makes a huge difference! Here, in our meetings, the Spirit is in our music, and we are so blessed to have great musicians. I understand now that music, singing, and dancing, if in the Spirit, is the most beautiful thing because it’s holy! It doesn’t even have to be perfect. It’s another way to express our testimony. When I dance, I’m dancing with the Spirit in the music, as it moves me in my body. The flow of the Spirit and feelings that the Spirit gives. There is a flow of an ebb or tide in the Spirit, much like in water, and it’s beautiful. Dancing, to me, is basically a testimony of the power and love that’s in me from God! So, Jesus helped me discover for myself the talent of dance, which I never knew existed, and never would have known, had I not obeyed the Spirit.
When I first came to the meetings, earlier this year, I didn’t really know what to expect. Well, let’s just say, it was way beyond my expectations and glorious! Full of love, and overwhelming joy flooded my soul! When you started playing the song, “Finding Glory All Along the Way”, I started to have feelings in my spirit to dance. But at first, my flesh was holding me back out of fear, saying to myself, I can’t dance and I’m going to look like a fool! Well, my flesh was telling the truth, as I can’t dance. But in the Spirit, all things are possible! There was a real battle between my flesh and the Spirit. But eventually the Spirit in me compelled me so much that I had to break out of my comfort zone! I had to “break through the roof”, as Gary’s song says, in order to get what I truly wanted from Jesus! As I was coming out of my fleshly shell, I heard Gary say out loud, “He’s moving out!” or something like that. When I heard Gary say that, that’s all it took for me to go out there on that floor and dance. I finally felt free and became myself that Jesus created me to be! The Spirit is always in motion and is fluid! He wanted to give me this gift or talent of dance so I can be made available for Him! I learned that we’re valuable to the Spirit only if we are willing to be made available to Him. I don’t want to hide my talent inside of me and bury it. It has to be put in operation or motion, just like the Spirit. It’s only profitable when it’s in use, and for the benefit of the body. When it’s not in motion, it dies, and we eventually become an unprofitable servant. Being given talents bring with it a responsibility to Him that gives them. I need to be fully yielded, and be led by His Spirit so I can be of some use to this body that He placed me in.
Jesus also has shown me that there are many that are hiding their talents or have not discovered them yet due to fear; just like me. The only way to combat that old man (our flesh) is to stay so full of His Spirit. That’s our weapon. Amen! My desire and prayer for all of us is just to be available, and we will all discover our talents and use them!
Love in Christ,
David