Where He leads I will follow

"Trust and Obey
for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus
but to trust and obey."

Like the Two-Step that marked my parents' generation (along with the Great Depression), compatibility empowers movement.  The same applies to The Tango, although its beats and tempo differ.  What do I mean? Roles must be determined, usually from practice, with or without music.

One of the main reasons (I later learned from my brother, Sam), the eighth-grade boys rarely asked me to dance? "You always try to lead."  Lead? Where? I had no idea what he meant! Later, of course, I understood.  Dance moves, as in the Two-Step or The Tango required identification of roles.

A jauntiness characterized the Two-Step while sultriness branded The Tango.  When just two dance together, rudimentary questions need answering: Who will lead and who will follow.  Can I trust he knows how to lead before wondering where he's headed? Does she understand beats and tempo? The difference between The Waltz or The Bump? How long has he been dancing? What is his success rate/ How many trampled-on toes has he left on the dance floor?

There's trust (believe) and obey (comply) on the dance floor; then there's trust and obey in the Spirit.  Trust and obedience rank high in the decision-making process and require split-second acquiescence.  After all, the nervous guy counts the seconds before he'll become embarrassed by dance floor rejection while she wonders if she feels competent enough to exercise required ballroom maneuvers.

The analogy between faith and dance emerged recently when I seriously thought about my ability and willingness to entrust my life to God.  The old hymn intones, "He's got the whole world in His hands; He's got the whole world in His hands." I wondered if He had sought my hand or if He just did it by fiat. What triggered the thought? For starters, my unease about my relationship with the Creator. 

Did I have sufficient faith to declare, "Thy will be done," and not fret because I had no idea whether His will would result, not in pain or retribution, but joy and peace? Frankly, I've done some not-so-good things in my life, God.  I got away with lots of them, hundreds before I stopped tallying.   Now I know the Psalmist David reassures that You throw our sins into the "sea of forgetfulness" when we confess them and ask forgiveness.  But do You, really?

I  read the Holy Bible for edification history and instruction. One of the deacons at my family Church carried almost like a middle name, "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it."I often wished I had his certitude, but I didn't, and probably hadn't acquired it in the years since.  Consequently, reticence about faith, trust, and belief had grown rather than diminished.

Subsequently, I spent days and months---a long time---studying the etymology of trust, belief, faith, and wherever they led me.  I stumbled across (not really because there are no accidents in Spirit) the seminal Scripture, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God" Hebrews 11:6.  OMGoodness, the Good Book revels to heal!

Deacon "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it" Smith embraced it with only the faith of a grain of mustard seed. OMGoodness! I imagine Profesor Higgins (My Fair Lady) saying, "She's got it! By god, she's got it!"

"When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
We do His goodwill
He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey."