[21 day pause] day 1: be still
“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” ~Martin Luther
um. right.
The first time I heard that quote, I laughed… out loud.
I don’t know who shared it with me… but, it stuck with me because – well, if I’m being honest – time with my King is the first thing that goes out the window when I have “so much to do”.
And – I have things to do!
school my three kids…
work…
get the house picked up…
go to the grocery store…
plan and prepare dinner…
pay the bills in a timely manner…
not to mention all the extra things that interrupt the day…
I find it all too easy to get caught up in my to-do list for the day or week instead of recognizing that the only way I’ll get through it is to simply… pause and spend time with Jesus.
Yet, remember the story of Mary and Martha?
Martha invited Jesus to come and got caught up in all the preparations… while Mary simply sat at the feet of Jesus listening to all He had to say. Jesus points out that Mary has chosen the good part and that it won’t be taken away from her. [Luke 10:38-42]
Not to say that schooling the kids… working… housework and meal preparations aren’t good things. I’m sure that the preparations Mary was making were good things – I mean, she was having the Son of God in her home!
Everyone says: Be productive! Be busy! Be ambitious! God says: Be still and know I am God. (Ps. 46:10)
Another translation says…
“Cease striving… and know that I am God.”
STOP trying so hard and just BE. Sit and be still.
pause.
My grandma went to be with Jesus a week ago and ever since I have been longing to just put everything aside to just be. To remember her and her beautiful legacy of grace and strength… And yet, life-stuff keeps getting in the way.
Due to unforeseen circumstances out of my control, I have gotten behind on just about everything I need to do…
work, school, projects, bills… and I could feel my spirit longing for pause. Wondering where that “pause” button is so I could just sit. just grieve. just BE.
But, this verse… and Martin Luther’s quote… are about more than just pausing to BE.
We are to be still…
and not sleep.
not twiddle our thumbs.
not drink our coffee while day-dreaming.
No, this pause?
We are to be still and recognize who our King is.
We are to be still and KNOW that He is… God.
We are to pause and get to know Him better…
The Message translation says:
“Step out of the traffic!
Take a long, loving look at me, your High God,
above politics, above everything.”
Psalm 46:10 MSG
Be still. Get out of the rat-race. Step out of traffic…pause.
Then take a long… loving look at Me, your High God…
pause.
Then get to know Me better… seep in my love for you…
That post from Mr. Lucado was exactly what I needed.
pause.
Maybe pause is what you need to?
Open up the Word of God… and simply listen…
In fact, let’s start right here – reading the entire chapter of the Psalm Max Lucado shared with me today.
{Did you know… some scholars translate the word “Selah” as “pause”?**}
Psalm 46 NASB
“God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.”
[This post is part of the 21-Day Pause Challenge… Will you join me and take on the challenge to be in the Word every day for the next 21 days? Simply read… and share in a post on the No Longer Ashes Facebook page or in a comment below. Let’s keep each other accountable to being in the Word – Come as you are… listen, and leave changed. Join me?]
**“Selah” is also thought to be rendered from two Hebrew words: s_lah, “to praise”; and s_lal, “to lift up.” Another commentator believes it comes from salah, “to pause.” From these words comes the belief that “selah” is a musical direction to the singers and/or instrumentalists who performed the Psalms, which was the hymnbook of the Israelites. If this is true, then each time “selah” appears in a psalm, the musicians paused, either to take a breath, or to sing a cappella or let the instruments play alone. Perhaps they were pausing to praise Him about whom the song was speaking, perhaps even lifting their hands in worship. This would encompass all these meanings—praise, lift up, and pause. Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/selah.html#ixzz3R8HsEH5e
