Selah

P 3310 The power of Pausing.

/ DVH

There is a word in the bible that means … “stop and think on this.” It appears often in the Psalms — SELAH. We translate that word into ‘pause.’ So we need to do more than agree with what it says, we need to stop and think about it. Selah means ‘I will stop and think about how these words I have just read can impact my life, my concerns, my hopes.’  Pausing and waiting for Him allows us to breathe, instead of anxiously holding our breath.

Pausing is like hitting the refresh button on a computer. It means we’ve been captured by something and we want to stop long enough to go back over it and see what is really being said. Pausing adds clarity.  We can find His Presence far more easily when we stop ‘think-worrying,’ and choose to pause. Then pray. I call it pausing, but Father God calls it by many names. In James 1:12 it says it like this: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.”  This is a person who stands still, when everything around him is whirling about. He is pausing to steady himself.  

Steadfastness is the ability to believe God is good even when every circumstance around you says differently. We deliberately choose to hold fast to Him. It means you stop trying to solve the unsolvable and simply look at the One Who is so much bigger than our problem or questions. It’s taking a big breath and taking the time to lay these things aside, then we choose to take hold of Him and His Word, and wait. We want to cultivate the ability to understand that despite how formidable something seems, God has it. Meanwhile we patiently wait to see what He will do next!

“I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope.”  Psalm 130:5. Waiting means I don’t react, so eventually I choose to act as He prescribes. I believe what He said in the bible and so I put my whole thought processes into meditating on that. And I stop ruminating on stuff.  My hope is always in Who He is, not just getting an answer. The secret to being blessed in waiting is not merely waiting til the trial is over — it’s waiting to hear what He says about it in the time you have chosen to pause. That is done deliberately. Pausing is letting go and letting Him do what He wants.

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12. These things are unattainable if we do not take the time to pause. Our un-renewed minds can easily run into panic without real, tangible, God-given reassurance. Our assurance is in the bible! Pausing helps us to learn His Ways. We learn first-hand how He handles things. How unhurried He is in a world that is often rushing here and there. Whatever is flattening our well-being slides away in the light of His Word. Standing still, waiting, pausing, remaining steadfast – all these things can help us to unravel the difficulties that land on us. Then we can see them without a whole lot of mind-busyness. Pausing releases and relieves stress. 

Moses literally paused.  He was going about his daily routine and then he saw the burning bush — and the bible says this: “And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”  Exodus 3:3. He stopped what he was doing long enough to do more than give the bush a cursory glance. He actually physically engaged his body by using his feet to find out what was happening. He immediately encountered Almighty God when he took the time to pause and wonder.  

Pausing shows the Lord we value Him and His input. It engages His attention. It says: “I am not going to rush past this moment, I will give it to You. I am curious to hear what you want to say to me Lord.” It has a parallel truth present in the Song of Songs. The singer says to His beloved: “You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.” The shepherd has been captivated, He stands still long enough to notice not just her, but her presence. He refuses to move past his beloved’s loveliness quickly. Pausing is about deliberately paying attention to something that captures our hearts.

It may not be about something unusual, it might just be we have seen whatever it is many times before, but this time it grabbed us and other things faded into the background. Then all we can see is Him, His wishes, His Way. Time stops pushing at us because, it becomes irrelevant. Like Moses we turn aside to ‘see.’ Pausing is about those moments, when the busyness of this world fades into the background and we are lost in what we’ve seen, or read, or experienced. Pausing, waiting on Him, adds depth where we might simply live in the shallows.

Pausing is about ceasing from any activity temporarily, whilst listening to and waiting for the Lord. Personally, I think if we practice learning to pause over Godly things, we will learn to live in His rest far more easily. Pausing is like drinking in the Lord’s peace, on purpose. There is such value in simply stopping and choosing to look at Him, to see what He wants to say. I recommend it. Bye. 👋

P 2556 Take the time to be observant.

/ DVH

Reflecting on this life and it’s activities is almost an automatic past-time as you get older. You can even end up zoning out … and sometimes you might just plain fall asleep in the process! This seems to happen fairly regularly when there is more of your life behind you than there is in front! 😂 However… taking the time to be observant is an enormously overlooked life-skill. 

Humanity is always busy. This life is about hurry hurry, rush rush, everywhere — gotta be, gotta do, gotta make money, gotta buy stuff! Gotta help this guy … gotta yell at that one! If we sit down at all,  it’s because we simply have to veg-out and stop thinking, purely because we are exhausted – mentally, and physically. I believe we will build our own faith if we take the time to notice the beautiful things God does for us every single day, plus the incredibly lovely things He has put all around us.

Here’s a verse to chew on: “Wait and listen, everyone who is thirsty! Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, come, buy [priceless, spiritual] wine and milk without money and without price [simply for the self-surrender that accepts the blessing].” Amp. Isaiah 55:1-3. Maybe, if we have stopped being thirsty, it’s because we are trying to satisfy spiritual needs with physical activity and busyness etc? Trust me, that won’t work. If you feel like you are working yourself to the bone but you are going nowhere, this could easily be the reason. Perhaps you’ve lost the power to observe and reflect.

True rest, joy and peace only comes from Jesus. From knowing Him. From seeing this life from His POV. I believe that is why Christ said: “… consider the lilies” AND  “… consider the birds.”  Mankind can get so busy providing, buying, doing and planning, we can easily forget this life is not all there is! Walking with Jesus down here on earth is preparation for walking with Him up there in heaven. How do I know that? Because the bible says: “…on earth as it is in heaven.” There ain’t nobody rushing about in heaven! There is no need, time as we know it, doesn’t exist up there.

Being reflectively observant means we take some moments to actually pay a different kind of attention to the world around us. We aren’t racing along so task-focussed we have no thought for anything else.  My favourite thing to look at when I am just chilling, is birds. It seemed to me, when I prayed over this, that birds have another lesson to teach me. To start with Jesus told us to consider them – so that kind of makes it legal! 

Did you ever wonder why Jesus mentioned flowers and birds as good illustrations of the way we are to regard His kingdom? As I’ve said I watch birds a lot. It seems to me that the only time they are not busy is when they are sleeping! However,…birds never actually ASK where their food comes from. Aha!— thinks I… so perhaps this bible thought is about not busyness but what actually occupies or fills our minds. Like the stuff we think about as we go about our days? Maybe birds are simply occupied “…with the self-surrender that accepts the blessing.“ 

Have WE learnt the self-surrender that accepts the daily blessings that God sends us? We know He does bless us all the time because He is a far better Father than our earthly fathers ever could be! (Matthew 7:9-11.) But can it be that we are so busy rushing here and there and everywhere, that we don’t notice, or even pause and see what He is doing? I believe in the power of pausing. The bible calls that “selah” – it means pause and think on this.

So I’ve asked the Lord to help me to stop, and pay attention to whatever He is doing, plus what is going on around me. I am learning to take the time, moment by moment, to notice and thank Him for doing it. Our steps are ordered by Him. (Psalm 37: 23,24.) That means there is not one fraction of a second in your life and mine that is not considered, gazed upon, and lovingly reflected upon, by God Himself. Just that thought should blow anyone’s mind into reflection! Yet another great way to know our Heavenly Father is to see this life through His eyes, and He is never in a hurry.

It is amazing that there are things that we can miss from day to day, unless we are prompted by the Holy Spirit. However, He is not a TADA! kind of a Person. But He will bring these things to our attention if we ask Him to, so we can carefully observe and reflect on them. Bye. 😊👋

Proverbs 4:20-22“My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.”

P 2277 The value of silence.

/ DVH

“I stand silently to listen for the One I love, waiting as long as it takes for the Lord to rescue me. For God alone has become my Saviour. He alone is my safe place; His wraparound presence always protects me. For He is my champion defender; there’s no risk of failure with God. So why would I let worry paralyse me, even when troubles multiply around me? 

But look at these who want me dead, shouting their vicious threats at me! The moment they discover my weakness, they all begin plotting to take me down. Liars, hypocrites, with nothing good to say— all their energies are spent on moving me from this exalted place. Pause in His presence. 

I am standing in absolute stillness, silent before the One I love, waiting as long as it takes for Him to rescue me. Only God is my Savior, and He will not fail me. For He alone is my safe place. His wraparound presence always protects me as my champion defender. 

There’s no risk of failure with God! So why would I let worry paralyse me, even when troubles multiply around me? God’s glory is all around me! His wraparound presence is all I need, for the Lord is my Savior, my Hero, and my life-giving strength. Trust only in God every moment! Tell Him all your troubles and pour out your heart-longings to Him. Believe me when I tell you—He will help you! Pause in His presence” Psalm 62:1-9.

Sometimes the very best response to troubles or difficulties, is silence. There are times when talking about ‘whatever it is’ is the very worst thing we can do. Talking about our problems and trials can magnify them – plus other similar forgotten events can end up tumbling out adding to everyone’s ire. You can end up quite literally talking yourself out of your faith! Plus, why would we want to exalt the works of our enemy? Silence helps us pull focus back into trusting HIM, rather than focussing on the thing that is causing pain.

At one time, Elijah had just completed a major outworking of God’s power through him, right after that, somebody with authority threatened him, so he ran away. Eventually, Elijah ended up standing at the mouth of a cave, wrapped in His prophet’s mantle, waiting for God in silence. Whether you decide to fast, and/ or remove yourself from other people, some spiritual things become much clearer without this world’s distractions. Simply by quieting your thoughts and waiting, clarification comes. 

Psalm 62 has that interesting little word in it, Selah. It means ‘pause and think on this’. Pausing and silence are two of the least mentioned expected attributes of a Christian but they are greatly needed. I’ve found that the Holy Spirit is rarely loud, so if you want to hear Him, you will definitely need to take time to quiet yourself and simply listen. 

At those times it is good to try to soak yourself in His word. I’ve read all the way through an Epistle in one go, often pausing, or quietly thinking. I’m waiting for Him to speak. In times like this, what we are saying, without words, is… ‘I bow before You, Lord.’ Waiting and resting are signs of respect and reverence, as well as acknowledging Him. They help us remember He is God and … we are not! 

I have even been known to fall asleep whilst waiting – I don’t think that matters, my spirit is always on and so is His! There are other times when my mind is way too busy because I am overwhelmed by the enemy’s threats, distractions, and lies. Silence has helped me become more familiar with the Lord’s peace. In the Psalms it says ‘..I have stilled and quietened myself like a weaned child at its mother’s breast..’ BTW, I’m not waiting to get an answer as much as I am preparing myself to hear His answer by clearing away external noise.  

I believe that waiting and remaining in silence is good for us, particularly in today’s busy world. Our world demands that we keep active, busy or distracted most of the time. Sound washes around us everywhere we go until we are saturated in it. This means we could feel overwhelmed when there is complete silence. Silence is not only great for hearing the Lord’s thoughts on a matter – it’s terrific for keeping track of your own! Being silent before Him is like taking a cool shower on a boiling hot day – I always feel refreshed afterwards. 

It took me quite a while to wean myself off noise … I had to deliberately practice it, but eventually I fell in love with this skill. I have started to think noise and busyness can be a place we choose to hide in – instead of confronting our own feelings and facing this life’s dramas. Pausing and being silent is valuable and a great skill to cultivate, I heartily endorse it, because it helps us pull focus. 👋🏻