Selah
Selah.
S-e-l-a-h.
Have you ever come across this word “selah” in your reading or in your studying? If not, it is time to consider this word today.
Selah.
This five- letter word is able to miraculously transform everything for you during this time of social isolation, quarantine and loneliness.
And I do mean EVERYTHING!
“Selah” is a word that is used 71 times in the Book of Psalms in the Bible.
“Selah” was a rest within a song that meant, “Pause … and listen for the music!”
Oftentimes the word “selah” followed a majestic and glorious call to worship by the Psalmist.
Selah.
Other times, it followed a gruesome passage of fear, doubts, trouble and the impending danger of enemies.
Selah.
I have discovered that no matter what one is going on in life that it is always an appropriate and needful time to pause and listen for the music of God.
I believe that right now, in the midst of this global pandemic, that the loving Father is calling us to Him in a “selah” moment of time.
Do you hear His sweet yet insistent invitation?
Do you hear His quiet voice bidding you to come into His presence and to just enjoy the wonder of the song of His magnificent heart?
Close your eyes … take a deep breath … put down your phone … and selah!
Stop talking about what we are going through!
Stop worrying about tomorrow!
Stop rehearsing the statistics!
Stop opening the refrigerator door!
Stop watching the ridiculous and temporary entertainment that is offered on Netflix!
Stop emoting!
Stop the fierce enemy of fear in his dastardly tracks!
Stop focusing on the temporary and set your gaze on the eternal!
Stop and listen …
Listen for the music of God!
Selah.
This can be our finest hour, my friend! But it will only be our finest hour if we choose to participate in the finest of all of our options.
Selah.
There is a generation yet to come that will be told of the strength and the revival that happened when their parents and grandparents chose to respond to the voice of God during one of the worst pandemics that the world has ever seen!
Your choices, in the midst of this monumental suffering and horrific pain, are writing your legacy.
I often think of “The Greatest Generation” and their contributions to the culture and mindset of life today.
“The Greatest Generation” was birthed due to the parentage of the Depression and World War II.
The strength and integrity of “The Greatest Generation” was conceived not in days of flamboyant living nor on the bed of selfish leisure but their superior character was wrought during a time of unmatched poverty and appalling despair.
The monumental dreams of “The Greatest Generation” were fertilized in the heartache of a cruel war that encircled the entire globe.
Hard times have always had the potential of refining humanity into a people of sterling strength, heroic character and vivid goals.
Let us become that group of people!
You become greater than you could ever be on your own when you respond to the wooing of the Father to dance in His presence and to allow the symphony of heaven to invade your temporary pain.
When you choose to selah … you are choosing to capture the heart and mind of God on a matter.
When you listen for the music of God … you choose to dream with Him … to walk with Him … and to overcome with Him!
Selah!
The manner in which we fight fear, anxiety or discouragement is by reminding ourselves daily of Who God is and what He is able to do!
When fear knocks on the door of your heart – answer it by declaring the attributes of your good, good Father!
He is kind!
He is faithful!
He holds all power!
He is a Warrior!
He wins every battle He fights!
He is still on the throne!
His Word holds eternal truth!
He is my Shield and my Fortress!
His goodness is everlasting!
He is merciful!
He is my Comforter and Friend!
And, after you have slammed the door in the face of the most unwelcome intruder, Fear, and his twin brother, Anxiety, then you casually sit down … put up your feet … and you selah!
I challenge you this week to fill your home and your heart with the music of God.
Perhaps it is time for you to actually welcome the respite from your former busyness and to embrace the relief of living without a thousand distractions!
And then … during every hour of every day … just gaze into the face of the Father.
He is waiting for you.
He wants you to want Him during this time.
This is your moment … this will be your finest hour if you will open yourself to the sweet joy and strength of the selah moment that has been offered to you.
We will be the finest generation in all of written history!
We will be those who sang with God during the darkness of the pandemic!
We will selah!
Thanks for listening to my heart this week. As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me. And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is!