search your hearts and be silent. Selah
Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.” Ps 4: 4-5 (NIV)
“In your anger do not sin. . . “ How many times have we done
something silly or even stupid when we were angry at another person? A friend’s
husband speaks of being angry at situations or processes in his work that don’t
do as they should. Like all of us, when he reacts to the frustration, he
usually has to ‘pay for it’. I have to admit; I have reacted to things and
caused bigger problems. If I had just prayed about the hurt and the need I
would have not felt guilty about the added work or expense we had.
” . . . search your
hearts and be silent. . . “ When we follow the Lord, He allows us time to
look into our hearts and see what we have in there-sometimes, what we see may
not be very attractive. God provides a remedy for those horrible images- He
tells us to not speak. What he implies is that we listen to what He has to tell
us. Have you ever heard of the concept that we “are given two ears and one
mouth? We should use them in that proportion.”
”. . . Selah. . . “ Think
about what you just read. The musicians of the Temple placed these ‘stop signs’
in the hymns for the congregation to ponder the words they had just sung.
”. . . Offer right sacrifices. . . “ In
our 21th Century world what is the right sacrifice for God? Is it our time? Is
it our talent? Is it our treasures? Is it our trust? Is it our telling? Or do
our sacrifices encompass all four of these? We hear of parent’s sacrificing for
their children. We hear of one spouse sacrificing for the other
during pursuit of educational goals or times of illness and distress.
” . . . and trust in
the LORD.” Without our trusting in God and in others, what would our world
look like? We wouldn’t be able to confide our feelings with friends. People
wouldn’t feel comfortable asking for help from another other persons. If we
didn’t have faith in our doctors, we wouldn’t trust them to tend to our
ailments. 
Selah... pause, stop, silence... I love that word. We need to ponder, not just read.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cecelia!
Marja; We need to practice the message of 'selah' as we meditate on God's Word.
DeleteThanks for this. Selah - We all need to pause and be still, be silent before God. The world is so noisy and so busy. Even worship services in some (or most) churches avoid silence. I need to remember Selah the next time I'm irritated, frustrated or angry.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Thanks for stopping in. I prefer my devotional time to be in the mornings before Hubby gets up and the traffic on our street is quiet. I am going to be actively practicing pondering since I have heard about the meaning.
DeleteI think practicing regular 'selah' moments would save a lot of trouble and embarrassment, don't you? Wonderful reminder of this principle, Cecelia.
ReplyDeleteRhonda" Thank you for stopping by. 'Selah' moments; I like that phrase.Yes, practicing them would save us,or me anyway, a lot of trouble. I think I'm going to put this idea into practice.
DeleteHave a great day.
oh! the beauty of silence...
ReplyDeleteAnnamarie: It is grand. We can hear His whisper as we search for our way.
Delete