The Broken Halleluiah

452 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 6:14-16, “Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. 16 Now as the ark of the LORD came into the City of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. (2 Sam 6:14-16) What a celebration! The ark, the very presence of God, now being carried to Jerusalem properly and with God's blessing, and David cannot contain himself! He takes off his kingly garb and all it's trappings and slips on the simple clothing of the Levite. This simple garb gave his limbs room to dance, and dance he did. So how do you feel about that? Have you ever been in a worship service where people break out in dancing for the sheer joy of being in fellowship with God? Or conversely, have you ever been in a worship service where solemn ritual seems to be the norm? I think there is a warning here for us to guard against the attitude that Michal displayed as she saw David dancing. She “despised him in her heart,” The word despised here means to disesteem. In other words, she lost respect for David as she observed his method of worship. Worship of the Lord is a very personal matter and we all express it differently. I would encourage all of us to not judge the worship style of others. Don't break their Halleluiahs! At the same time, I would encourage all of us to guard against our flesh taking over in our worship. Dancing can be led by the flesh rather than the Spirit, and stoicism can also be led by the flesh. Let us all seek to keep the Lord the center of our attention wherever and whenever we worship. Keep it simple as Jesus said in Joh 4:24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." Let us learn to put on the linen ephod and not the judges robe when we are in the presence of the Lord! Thank You Father for the freedom You give us to worship you. Let us not abuse it.