Dancing with the Holy Spirit
Life in the Spirit is like dancing. “We have to dance with the Spirit,” Mary Healy said. Her words, once again, awoke something inside of me. She was referring to letting the Holy Spirit lead us, as when in a dance the moves flow smoothly between a couple, effortlessly uniting them and bringing forth beauty.
For a person like me, who unconsciously had felt the need for control almost through her entire life, the idea of letting someone else lead was not easily welcomed. I’ve been learning a lot about myself during the past five years or so, and I realized that at the bottom of my need for control there has been deep fear. Fear of losing what I love or seeing the ones I love getting lost, and fear of seeing my “perfect” plans coming apart. Fear, fear, fear.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18
God tells me that to walk with Him is to walk in love and that this love, His love, sets me free from all fear. Mary Healy’s words awoke in me a deep desire to lose control and to finally let God’s Spirit lead me. Truly, I have no idea how to live this way; I am amazed to see how much control I have imposed even over my relationship with God. It is as if a blindfold has been removed from my eyes and now I can see clearly. But not only can I see, I also feel His presence strengthening me so I can wake up every day and accept every circumstance, especially the unplanned ones, as part of His divine will, reminding me that it’s no longer I who’s in control, but He. I feel the certainty in my soul that all is well, that there is no need to fear or to grasp control anymore; I just need to follow after each one of His steps and respond accordingly to His movements. To my surprise, as I’ve been walking in this manner, things have fallen into their right place, prayer petitions I had for years started being answered, but not necessarily in the way that I expected, but in His perfect way, greatly surpassing my expectations.
This change in my life has been freeing and has moved me to an increased faith in Jesus and in His divine will for my life; however, one thing was needed from me, to remain close to Jesus looking for every opportunity to be in prayer and solitude with Him. I see it as being in a ballroom, Jesus at the dance floor extending His hand, inviting me to dance with Him, and my deciding between staying seated at the table holding tight to my chair (to my control), or stepping onto the dance floor, holding His hand confidently and letting Him mark the steps. Prayer and moments of solitude with Him are my way of remaining on the dance floor holding His hand tight, letting Him take over. He moves where He wills, and without knowing where I am being taken, I feel secure because I am firmly held by the One who holds in His hands the perfect plan for my life.
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. John 3:8
By Karla Cebreros
Photo by Gabby Orcutt on Unsplash