Cosmic Pilgrimage Circle Dance
Pastor Sherrye Fuentes, author
Every year we go on a cosmic journey. You could say we are all pilgrims. You do not even have to step out of the house to be a part of this pilgrimage. You are not alone, the whole world is with you. You do not have to worry about getting lost because God is in control of the entire process.
On January first you started a one year pilgrimage around the Sun. That's right a year is determined by a journey - the Earth's 365 day journey around the Sun. At the end of the year you will have traveled 39,323,640,000 miles. That certainly makes a missionary trip to a foreign country look extremely insignificant, doesn't it? If you think in cosmic terms, stepping out on any missionary trip is small potatoes compared to what you have already accomplished by sitting in your recliner in front of the TV watching your favorite sitcom.
If you leave your home and drive 15 minutes to the store and spend 30 minutes shopping and 15 minutes more traveling home, it is not in the same place you left it. Since the Earth spins on its axis, your home would be 1000 miles away from where it was an hour before. BUT that is not all - the Earth is rotating around the sun so your home would also be in a different area of space 67,000 miles from where you left it!
It seems like we should be woozy or it should be really windy or something like that. This could explain why some people are dizzy all the time.
It is so good that we do not have to make this journey alone. We take all our family and friends with us. We even have people we do not even know or like tagging along on this journey. We can call them cosmic hitchhikers, I guess. God never intended for us to be alone and would never send us out to do something for Him alone. Not only is He with us, so are 6 billion others you can find.
You do not need a map for this trip because God is driving. When I was young my family traveled across country many times. We lived in one state, and both sets of grandparents lived in different states hundreds & hundreds of miles away. When we made these interstate journeys the kids would relax the whole way. My Dad did the driving. We had a big van for some of the trips and a station wagon for others. My parents would have a big flat area with a mattress in back where we could lay down and look out the windows and not worry about a thing - Dad was driving. We could go to sleep and when we got to our destination all we had to do was get out of the car and we would be there.
It is like that with God, too. You can rest in the Lord. Sleep, relax, enjoy the journey. It can be joyful when you do not have to worry about the roads, weather, traffic, flat tires, gas prices, or time factors. Rest in the Lord as a little child; just don't keep asking, "Are we there yet?!" We will all get there in His perfect time, and we will all arrive at the same time. God is driving. God is in control.
As you can see, God designed the universe with a circle as the model. When you go in a circle, there is always a center. The Moon circles the earth and it always faces the center, so the Moon is CENTERED on Earth. The Earth circles the Sun, but does not always face it. When Earth turns away from the Sun it is dark. When it turns back toward the Sun it is dawn, a new day and darkness is dispelled by the light.
When you turn away from God, darkness (evil) enters in, but if you turn back to God there is a dawn in your life, a new beginning. God will never move away from the center, but we have the choice to turn away or be centered on Him, always facing him. We can live in the light & warmth of God's holiness, or turn away and be in the dark, and cold of the emptiness where God is not.
Our bright shining Sun is a shadow compared to God. That's right, the brightest thing our physical lives dims in comparison to the brightness that is God. God is so bright he could do more than just blind our eyes if we beheld his fullness in our fallen physical state; we would burn to an ash and that ash would turn to smoke if we came into his presence with sin as part of our nature. That is why God had to come as Jesus to take that sin from us, so we could have a Close personal, one on one relationship with him again. Adam and Eve had it. They were able to walk side by side with the Lord in the Garden of Eden before there was sin in the flesh. But I digress - let's get back to the circles.
I have explained the first part of the title of this study - the "Cosmic Pilgrimage", but you may be wondering where the "Circle Dance" part comes in. Well, that's the Biblical part and it is so wonderful how God set everything up for us.
Judges 21:21 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh…
In Strong's reference you find that the dances they did were the "Circle Dances".
Strong's Ref. # 4234
Romanized machowl
Pronounced maw-khole'
from HSN2342; a (round) dance:
KJV--dance(-cing).
You have probably seen these dances where the people stand in a circle and link arms, or not, and dance a beautiful joyful dance. The other thing to note in this passage is the reference to taking a wife. The church is quite often referred to being a Bride in the Bible. So you see the potential brides dance in a circle and the potential grooms see the joyful dancing and choose their wives.
The same word is used in:
Jeremiah 31:4 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.
It refers to Israel as the virgin which is also translated as bride. So it once again refers to the bride dancing the joyful circle dance.
Psalms 149
1. Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
2. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
3. Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
In these verses we are instructed on how we can praise the Lord. We can sing his praises, play joyful music on assorted instruments, and we can do the circle dance. The Lord is blessed when we are joyful and let's face it - it is hard to be unhappy when you are dancing. I am thinking of Fred Astaire - he may not have danced in circles all the time, but he always had a smile on his face when he was dancing. A frown or complaining just do not go with dancing.
If anyone is wondering if the circle dance is mentioned in the New Testament, you can find it in the story of the prodigal son:
Luke 15
24. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
25. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.
Here we have Strong's definition of the word for "dancing".
Strong's Ref. # 5525
Romanized choros
Pronounced khor-os'
of uncertain derivation; a ring, i.e. round dance ("choir"}:
KJV--dancing.
Another way to honor the Lord is to rest in or wait on Him as I described earlier in the story of traveling and letting DAD drive.
Psalms 37:7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
The word "chuwl" they translated for us as "wait patiently" here can also be translated as "dance in circles! It is actually the root word for "machowl" the bride's circle dance we first saw in Judges.
Strong's Ref. # 2342
Romanized chuwl
Pronounced khool
or chiyl {kheel}; a primitive root; properly, to twist or whirl (in a circular or spiral manner), i.e. (specifically) to dance, to writhe in pain (especially of parturition) or fear; figuratively, to wait, to pervert:
KJV--bear, (make to) bring forth, (make to) calve, dance, drive away, fall grievously (with pain), fear, form, great, grieve, (be) grievous, hope, look, make, be in pain, be much (sore) pained, rest, shake, shapen, (be) sorrow(-ful), stay, tarry, travail (with pain), tremble, trust, wait carefully (patiently), be wounded.
God arranged for us to be doing the cosmic circle dance every day of our lives - AUTOMATICALLY. We do not even have to know the steps- we are DOING IT, we are doing the circle dance even in our sleep. How much easier could He have made it for us? God sees us going in circles and smiles on His children. He is pleased when His children are laughing, happy, joyful, pure of heart (virgin). He sees us as worthy to be a Bride - joined to Christ.
Jesus wants us to be joyful. He wants us to dance the circle dance.
John 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Titus 15: 13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
He even found JOY in the crucifixion!
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We have learned:
Let me just mention some other circles.
Oh, in the beginning of this study, I did not mention something else that goes in circles. The
Sun (and our solar system) is revolving around the center of the Galaxy at a speed of half a million miles per hour! So hang on, it is going to be an exciting ride.Make it a joyful one!