Ask Someone to Dance

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” – 2 Timothy 1:7

I remember one of the few times I went to a school dance. The organizers darkened the gym and hung streamers to create a sense of occasion. Somebody hung a strobe ball to create the cascading light effect. They put out round tables for groups to sit at. Everything detail had been thought of.

Except for how anyone might give me enough courage to ask a girl to dance. Some guys were confident (or at least cocky) and didn’t seem to mind asking a girl to dance knowing that some might even say no. Hearing “no” petrified me. For me, rejection was arguably a feeling on par with physical torture.

I remember seeing one girl, let’s call her Linda, that I was a bit sweet on, and I saw that she was sitting there with no one to dance. I did what I could to muster the courage to ask her to dance.

First song. A small amount of courage.

Second song. A wee bit more courage than before. Still not enough.

Third song. Fourth Song. Fifth song.

I think I’ve finally gotten the nerve to go over to her.

Slow song. Rats. That requires even MORE courage.

Then after the slow song, I got up out of my chair and started to walk over to Linda with my heart vibrating. I’m gonna do it, no matter what. I am tired of being a coward.

Then the lights came up and the principal said, “The dance is now over, thanks for coming!”

I managed to sit in my chair all night without ever asking anyone to dance. Fear was my sole companion.

In life, fear has a way of keeping us “sitting in the chair all night.” We want to get up and do things. We want to leap tall buildings in a single bound and we want to tell mountains to be cast into the sea.

But we are afraid of two things in my estimation more than anything else in this world.

We are afraid of failure, and we are afraid of rejection.

Monsters got nothing on failure and rejection. Nobody wants to lose and nobody wants to hear a “no” when they’re looking for a “yes.”

But the verse above says something fundamental about our relationship with God. God’s spirit who lives within us has given us power, love, and a sound mind. We could argue whether we had those things before we became Jesus followers, but one thing is indisputable; the Spirit of God has given us those things.

One other inescapable truth is mentioned in this verse.

God did not give you a spirit of fear.

He’s the One who calls you out of darkness into light. He’s the one who calls you out onto the water while the storm rages around you. He’s the one who sends you out like sheep to wolves.

The reason for this is that you are made in His image, and God is not fearful. His invisible attributes are evident inside of you as His creation (Romans 1:20).

So, metaphorically speaking, I have a word of encouragement for you today.

Ask someone to dance.

‍