SELAH!

Greetings,

I have an annoying habit that Jorge has come to accept; I hit the pause button in the middle of a TV show for any and all reasons.

Sometimes I do it because I know the answer to a Jeopardy! question and need the extra time to unlock it from my fuzzy memory bank.

Other times I do it because I want water.

One time I did it to tell Jorge a long story of how the girl in the movie reminded me of me.

More often than not, however, I pause after an intense scene that has left me emotionally shaken.  I can't help it if I need a moment to recover.  Dead Poets Society, Life is Beautiful, Schindler's List anyone?

I'm not the only one in favor of pausing, however.  The Bible tells us to pause over 70 times in the Psalms with the use of a beautiful Hebrew word: Selah. (Pronounced See-la).

Selah literally means "pause for a moment," and these are some of the verses it appears after.

Psalm 32:7  "You are a hiding place for me; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with shouts of deliverance."  SELAH!

Psalm 57:2-3 "I cry out to God Most High, to God Who fulfills His purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me.  He will put to shame him who tramples on me." SELAH!

Psalm 63:3 "Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!" SELAH!

God invites us to take a moment and think about how He protects us, fulfills our purpose in life, saves us, takes care of our enemies [sometimes these enemies are negative emotions], loves us and so much more...

Pausing for a moment after reading these life-changing truths allows them to settle into our weary souls and fill us with peace.  

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We praise You for Your unfailing love. We praise you for hearing our prayers. We praise You for the many blessings we receive each and every day. Help us to always re-direct our thoughts to the good and the lovely. In Jesus' name, AMEN~