Selah Moments

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“Be still…” (Ps. 46:10)

For years, people have been telling me that they feel peaceful in my presence. Apparently, Holy Spirit has worked the fruit of peace deep into my being. Apparently, though, He’s not done. I say this because, in this season, He has been taking my peace training to a whole new level. Is He doing that with you, too?

My daughter and I were laughing yesterday as we talked about this. Daddy God is funny. He wants to teach me about inner restfulness. So He gives me more to do. His training methods are certainly different from what our logical minds would expect, aren’t they? Do you, too, find yourself in an unexpected Holy Spirit learning course? If so, read on. I believe He wants to encourage your heart about this matter today.

So here I am… with a responsibility load that has increased beyond what I imagined myself capable of carrying. And Daddy says to my heart, and yours, “Be still.” In the midst of it all, He is teaching you and me to do just that. I want to share with you briefly today what it may look like, in practical terms, to walk out this instruction. Here are a few strategies that have helped me with its implementation:

1) Take ten minutes at the start of your day to sit in silence with God. If you are like me, this goes against the grain of your first inclinations. It may take quite a bit of practice – stretched out over some weeks or months – to get more comfortable with it. But keep at it. Practice just sitting there, directing your focus to His presence with you. Practice being un-busy on the inside, just enjoying His company.

You could lift up a few simple prayers along the lines of, “Satisfy me with Your love.” Or, “Show Me Your heart.” But keep them simple. Be still and quiet before Him. This does not take the place of the rest of your devotional time in the Word, worship, and prayer. It is, though, such a precious way to set the tone for your day.

“Be still, and know that I am God…” (Ps. 46:10, NKJV).

2) Take other moments throughout your day for purposefully getting quiet. Get to a stopping point on your current activity. Pause before you start the next one. Have a Selah moment. What do I mean by this? I am sure you have noticed that this word, “Selah,” is scattered generously throughout the Book of Psalms. Though the exact meaning is somewhat uncertain, many translators believe it means to pause and meditate on the truth being expressed. What an enriching practice!

So, again, take a Selah moment. Pause and direct your affection towards Jesus. Meditate on whatever He is speaking to your spirit. Like Pixar’s character, Wall-E, put out your solar panel and soak in the Sonshine. Quiet your heart. Connect with His closeness.

“The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah”

(v. 11, NKJV).

3) By faith, take a whole day every week to be still. I don’t mean that your day of rest needs to consist entirely of sitting in silence, by any means. However, I would highly encourage you to try incorporating at least some of that into your sabbath. What if you sit in silence with Him for a half hour? The exact time frame, of course, is between you and Holy Spirit. Whatever other pastimes you choose for your day off, make sure that they minister restfulness to your soul.

You may be wondering why I mentioned the words “by faith” for this third point. It’s this. Deciding to rest is a faith choice. Right as our designated day off rolls around, the responsibilities pulling on us may seem incredibly pressing. Sacrificing rest to take care of them can often be sorely tempting. However, when we “turn off the ringer” and train ourselves to ignore their screaming voices, we are exercising faith.

Choosing to rest is choosing to believe… that Daddy is big enough to keep moving everything forward on our behalf while we stop and breathe… that He is loving enough to take care of our needs while we rest in His arms. We are choosing to trust Him. We are choosing actions that demonstrate this trust in a way that is exceedingly precious to Him. This is, in fact, one of the bravest possible ways to seek His Kingdom first: choosing to obey His call to rest.

“But make His Kingdom and righteousness your chief aim, and then these things shall all be given you in addition” (Matt. 6:33, Weymouth).

Incorporating these Selah strategies into our everyday living will contribute greatly to our overall posture of internal restfulness. Then, once we do get back to the activities clamoring for our attention, we will increasingly navigate them from a place of inner rest.

So let’s do it, my friend. Let’s build into our lives windows of time for silence – silence filled with Jesus.

“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength” (Isa. 30:15, NKJV).

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How comfortable are you with silence?