You are a warrior of Christ, fighting a spiritual war. When the enemy attacks you need to be prepared to counter.
Meet Nicky: my closest friend, Maid of Honour and discipler. From the beginning of my faith walk, she has been by my side. No one keeps me accountable like this girl!
Two years ago she moved to Melbourne to study dance. In following the desire God placed in her heart, she has found herself in the heart of a harvest where the workers are few (Matthew 9:37).
The dance industry is an unreached people group and she is the missionary. The work is gruelling and often lonely. But she is a true warrior and an inspiration.
I am blessed to have her with me for a short time and have taken the opportunity to interview her for you.
Could you briefly describe the dance industry/your daily environment?
It is super fun being a dancer but it sure comes with its challenges. The dance industry is very competitive and image focused. There are far less gigs, as we call them, than dancers and the majority of dance work available is very provocative.
What is the hardest thing you have to face?
Not feeling like I suck at life…
Being a competitive environment, it is very hard to make real friends. People are nasty, often two-faced and quick to drop a friend for shallow ambitions.
Every day in training you are told you’re not good enough. You are pressured to be skinnier, wear immodest clothing and dance a certain way. But people will always find fault with you no matter how hard you try.
Thoughts of ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I can’t even dance’, ‘I’m not skinny enough’, run round and round in my head. Then they start to affect the rest of life too; ‘People don’t like me’, ‘I don’t have any significance’. These thoughts even make their way into my relationship with God.
What can we do to counter such lies?
- Put our shields up! We are in a battle. The devil does not want me in the dance industry sharing the amazingness of God and he doesn’t want you doing it in your field either. We need to be ready to stand up to his attacks.
When I’m praying on the way to training I like to put on the armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-18): “God, I take hold of the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. I ask that you would bring scriptures and truths to mind to battle the lies I may encounter today.”
- Stand shield to shield with Godly People. God can supernaturally do through people what we cannot do through positive thinking alone.
I find it’s not enough for someone to tell me ‘Stop being silly, you are skinny and a good dancer’. I know I should know that, but the lies that run round in my head are spiritual. I need people who can pray with me and for me.
So I asked an amazing dancer at church to be my mentor. We catch up, battle over struggles and pray together, even in the middle of the night.
- Overpower the ugly stuff (Romans 12:21). The more truth and light you are surrounded by, the smaller and smaller the lies and darkness become.
I position myself to hear God’s word by reading the Bible and going to church. I also hang around encouraging, uplifting friends. Through everything I lift God up and praise him ’cause, when I put my eyes on him and his magnificence, everything else seems insignificant.
- Remember why you’re there. Or biblically speaking, ‘Hold onto God’s promises’. No matter what comes against us or what we think of ourselves, God’s thoughts for us don’t change. If he’s called us to it he’ll see us through it .
God put it on my heart years ago to be a light in the dark in the dance industry. He keeps reminding me of that through people, sermons, his word and his voice.
He has got me through a career-ending broken back, months of no home and times of self-doubt. So when it gets hard I remember that I’m where God wants me and he is right there with me.
Questions: What lies do you struggle with? Which of these four counter-attacks are you going to put into practice?
Breakthrough 