A Declaration Song

The Dance of Love

Verse 1:

You replace my pain with treasure, Lord

With gems so precious and rare

You place them in settings of silver and gold

And you weave them into my hair. 

Chorus:

You give me joy for mourning, Lord, 

You give me joy and grace.

You give me joy for mourning, Lord 

And you dance me all over the place.

Verse 2:

You replace my rags with royal robes

Of brilliant colours and light

You clothe me in Strength and Dignity

So I can dance with all my might

Verse 3:

You replace my drab, monotonous grey

With vibrant colour as we dance through my days

You take my bitter and whinging heart 

And exchange it for a heart full of praise!

Bridge 1:

You dance, you dance with me

You lead me in this dance of love.

You set your love on me

And call me to the places above. 

Verse 4:

You replace my tears with laughter, Lord

With mirth and hilarity

You open my mind to Truth and we laugh

At the lies of the enemy!

Verse 5:

You replace my natural human sight

With faith-filled heavenly view

When I look at my circumstances now

I see not what they are, but what you can do!

Verse 6:

You replace my shrinking with confidence

Your perfect Love casts out every fear

The barren season is over and gone,

Behold a new day dawns bright and clear! 

Bridge 2:

You dance, you dance with me

You teach me how to move with grace

You set your love on me

In You, I have found my true place. 

I have given you a new song! I have put the words in your mouth, words of revelation and Truth. This is a declaration song! Sing it in praise and thankfulness, even (especially) on the days you are not "feeling it". 

I am the fulfillment of Isaiah 61, I came to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour!

"to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion - to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified." (Isaiah 61:2-3)

"They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord...their life shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall languish no more. Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance...I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them and give them gladness for sorrow." (Jeremiah 31:12-13)

Death for Life

I am opening your eyes to how often you operate from fear. This is not to discourage you, dear one! Instead, I am showing you this so that you can discover how many opportunities you have each day to make a different choice! A choice to die to your fear and let Me live through you. Resurrection power at work in the persistent struggles you face every day! 

I did not intend for this life to be one of struggling just to survive...I came that you might have LIFE! ABUNDANT and VICTORIOUS LIFE! But for that life to be at work in you, you need to die to certain thought habits, attitudes and behaviours. If you want to truly live, you will need to die to your right to whinge and complain about your lot; die to self-pity, die to self-sufficiency; and die to excessive planning and control. 

This is a painful process. Death always is. But a seed must die and be buried in the ground before it can burst forth in new life. 

Remember the Divine Exchange - you never come out worse off! I gave ALL OF MYSELF, that I might have ALL OF YOU. You give Me your dirty and tattered rags of your attempts at holy living - I replace them with shining robes of My righteousness! This is a one-off transaction, completed on the cross and through the empty tomb. However, you need to walk this out each and every day. You must give up something in order to gain everything.