Rush. Rush. Rush. Sometimes, I feel like that’s all I do. I rush around trying to mark things off my to-do list. I rush to the grocery store. I rush to clean the house before the guests arrive. I rush my husband to do the things I put on his honey-do list. I rush through my morning Bible time. Rush. Rush. Rush.
The thing about rushing around is you are always distracted. Constantly on the go, always moving. Always typing, in my case. You don’t have time to think. Or feel. Sometimes, you don’t have time to breathe.
I partnered with DaySpring to receive the monthly devotional kits, and as I worked my way through the Illustrated Faith devotional kit for July, something from Day 8 hit me.
In the Psalms, the holy rest is called Selah: A beautiful musical term allowing a quiet hush. It is meant to help in hearing the words of God, allowing the words to settle for a moment. Slowing down, the message can bring a deeper experience with God. It allows a listening heart to grow. – Junelle Jacobsen
In the rush of life, we don’t have time to listen. We don’t have time to rest. And if we aren’t resting and listening, slowing down enough, we can’t hear what God has to tell us. We can’t hear what He wants to share. Without a Selah, how can we grow and learn and become closer to our Creator?
After my miscarriage, I decided to try out a class called Holy Yoga that I heard about through a friend. I went out and bought a yoga mat the night before the class. I had never done yoga before, but I thought it sounded pretty cool. And I was curious what Holy Yoga might be like. What makes it holy?
I’ve been to that yoga class every week since. What I found was a welcoming instructor who has a heart for God.
What I found was my Selah.
Every week I look forward to Holy Yoga. It is like my church for the week. It is my time to slow down, listen, surrender. It is my quiet hush. I hear God during this class because it gives me a chance to listen. No rushing. Just breathing.
Jen, my instructor gives a lesson each week. She prays before the class begins, she reads scripture throughout the class as we do poses, and she prays after the class. Throughout the whole experience, worship music is playing in the background. And each week, I feel God speaking to me. Holy Yoga is my Selah. It gives me a chance to slow down, breathe, and listen. I can focus and hear what God wants to say. And each week, Jen or the music in the background has been a vessel for God’s voice.
Last week, Jen read this quote:
The work of a mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by them. – Francis Weller
That is exactly what I’ve been doing — holding both grief and gratitude at the same time. And let me tell you, it is definitely stretching. There is tension and sometimes it hurts. Stretching can be painful, but it can also be healing.
How are you being stretched?
Finding our Selah can be difficult in busy lives. We want to rush rush rush. But without a time to breathe, we can’t be stretched in the grief and gratitude. We can’t hear God if we’re constantly busy, never taking the time to slow down.
In July’s devotional kit, Junelle talks about where she finds peace. She mentions her farm with the lambs in each day’s devotion. She finds her peace, her Selah, in the midst of the sheep.
Where do you find your Selah?
Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. -Psalm 37:7
Illustrated Faith offers tools to help you find your Selah. If you find your peace, your rest, and your breath while Bible journaling — reading scriptures, drawing, writing, creating on the pages — let DaySpring give you the tools to do just that.
Each month’s kit comes with a devotional booklet, a stamp pad, a stamp collection set, a roll of washi tape, a sticker, a bow clip, and a set of shareable scripture cards.
Grab this month’s kit here.
DaySpring is also hosting a huge giveaway right now. The winner will receive a leather-bound single-column ESV Journaling Bible ($130 value), the Genesis devotional kit, and a $100 gift code to use on DaySpring.com. You can enter the giveaway below! It ends on July 1, at 11:59 p.m. Good luck!
Check out these other posts:
- Tips for Bible Journaling
- Bible Art Journaling with the Beautiful Word Bible
- Blessings or Lessons? June Devotional Kit
Follow along on Pinterest by following my Faith: Christian Living board.
I love the quote about grief in one hand and gratitude in the other. I’ve been stretched over the last year (and many years, actually) through the effort I’ve put into friendships and other life experiences through which I grew, but which also had their share of disappointments. I have to remember that God’s perspective is much wider than mine, and my job is to do whatever it seems He is allowing for me each day and leave the results to Him. It’s OK to feel pain, grief, and disappointment–that’s normal. The gratitude is what helps us to heal and to keep our eyes on the eternal perspective. Thanks for this reflection today! I can’t make it through the week without my quiet times. 🙂
“It’s OK to feel pain, grief, and disappointment–that’s normal. The gratitude is what helps us to heal and to keep our eyes on the eternal perspective.” — Yes, love that!