For my wedding, I rented a tux. I know, everybody does that & it usually works out fine.
I’m not everybody…
My body and my circumstances were different.
I got measured for the tux in Virginia and we sent the measurements to a clothing store in Keokuk, Iowa. They evidently thought the measurements were a mistake. After all no one can have a 24 inch inseam, right? It must be a 42 inch inseam. So that is what they did. The day of the wedding I went in and tried on the pants. They were WAY too long for my stubby little legs.
The tailor tried a quick fix involving safety pins and masking tape…
it was less than ideal.
It looked okay from the outside, but something just wasn’t right.
The pants were not mine, they were designed for some other dude.
It didn’t become a huge problem until the dance, I was trying to move but it was tricky. The pants were itchy and didn’t fit right. I was constantly pulling them up and tucking them in…it was awkward…
It’s tough to dance in another man’s pants.
It makes me think of a story…
David is about to have a lethal dance off with Goliath. King Saul tosses his pants to David, it gets a little awkward…
“So Saul outfitted David in the king’s own armor: a bronze helmet to protect his head and a coat of mail to protect his chest. David strapped on Saul’s sword outside the armor and then discovered he could not move because he was not used to the restrictions of the weighty armor.
David: I’m not used to these things. How can I attack an enemy when I can’t even walk? So he removed every bit of Saul’s armor. He would fight the Philistine as he had fought those lions and bears.” (1 Samuel 17:38-39)
Second hand armor never serves a first hand vision.
In other words…don’t wear another man’s pants.
But we do…
Out of fear, tradition or insecurity, We try to dance in another man’s pants and it gets awkward.
It’s not our dance!
We try to move but the groove can quickly become a rut.
We see how others dance, and how good they look doing it. That MUST be the way to dance, so we imitate their moves.
It’s not the same…
It’s awkward…
It’s not our pants!
We get constricted by comparison.
We remember the dances of the past, they were so much fun.
We refuse to learn new steps because “We’ve always danced that way!”
Without discounting the success of the past, today is…well…today.
It’s completely different from yesterday. We can’t hold onto the same old dance.
The Creator is constantly choreographing fresh movements.
Let’s get in step with Him.
Fight your own fight.
Dance your own dance.
Wear your own pants.
The creator who took the time to make you beautifully different from EVERYone else, also took the time to design a dance just for you.
Sadly, there are people who, instead of dancing, spend all their time trying to keep other people off the dance floor…or they tell you how to dance…or they try to make you sit down if you don’t get all the steps exactly right. David ran into that with his snarky big brother:
“David’s oldest brother, Eliab, overheard this conversation and became angry with David. Eliab: Why have you come down here? Who is watching your tiny flock in the wilderness? I’m your brother, and I know you—you’re arrogant, and your heart is evil. You’ve come to watch the battle as if it were just entertainment.” – 1 Samuel 17:28
David ignored his brother, you should ignore the destroyers of the dance too!
Don’t listen to them.
Dance!!
Dance your own dance.
Wear your own pants!
do things no one is doing to reach people no one is reaching.
Take aggressive dance steps of faith…
put on the pants that God has just for you…
get out on the floor & let the Spirit move you.
The Creator is constantly choreographing fresh movements.
Let’s get in step with Him.
carbonated joy 