Daily Devotional for December 1, 2018
The Devotion Dance
“Shut your eyes, Claire,” Mom said. “We have a surprise for you.” Claire closed her eyes, and her father led her to the playroom.
Dad said, “You can open your eyes now.”
Claire’s mouth fell open. She stared at the rectangular wooden stage at the far end of the room. A ballet barre and a full-length mirror with lights were attached to the stage. She squealed. “Wow! What a great surprise. Is today a special occasion?”
“No, dear,” Mom said. “Your father and I just want to see you develop your God-given talents. Well, are you going to stand there, or are you going to try out the stage?”
Claire jumped onto the platform. “Watch this.” She performed a few cartwheels, then tried different dance positions holding onto the barre. “Can I turn on some music?”
“Sure,” said Mom, “just keep the noise level down.”
Claire noticed an old trunk. “What’s that?”
“It’s another surprise. Go ahead. Open it,” Dad said.
The trunk overflowed with colorful, shimmery costumes her mom had saved from her dance recitals when she was a girl. Claire picked up a pink butterfly costume and tried it on. She grinned. “Now I can practice my dance routines.”
“You can also praise God with your dancing,” Mom said. “Like singing, dancing can be an act of worship.”
Claire ran across the stage and leaped into the air. “I’m leaping for Jesus!”
Mom walked to the edge of the stage. “We praise and worship God because of all He’s done for us. We gave you this stage as a gift so you could develop your talents, but He gave us the greatest gift of all—His Son, Jesus. I’m glad you want to use the talents the Lord has given you to thank Him for His great love.”
Later that evening, Mom and Dad found Claire singing and dancing on her new stage. “I am free to sing, I am free to dance, I am free to shout, I am free…” She stopped when she saw her parents. “Does it please Jesus to watch me dance and sing?” Claire asked.
“Yes,” replied Mom. “Nothing honors God more than a heart of gratitude.”
Claire spun around and said, “If you don’t mind, I need to practice my devotion dance.” – Linda Ray Center
How about you?
Do you praise God with the gifts He’s given you? God is the giver of all good gifts, and the talents and abilities He’s given you can all be used to worship Him. His greatest gift is His Son, Jesus, who died to save us from sin. Keep working to develop the talents He’s given you, and use them to praise Him and bless others.
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