Finding the Selah Moment

By Nancy Kay Grace –

Selah, a Hebrew word is regarded as a musical term indicating a pause or interlude. Beyond its musical implication, it can be a pause or rest for us in the activity of life. A Selah moment would be a time to pause and reflect in the midst of the busyness of life, resting in the refuge of God’s love.

Psalm 62:5-7 explains what I call a Selah moment, resting in the Lord.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

The past month I’ve had to learn to once again seek God as my refuge and rest in Selah moments.

In the end of July I went to see my ENT for a regular checkup on my tongue, he saw “worrisome” tissue and wanted to do surgery. I know this is always a possibility, but I was not expecting to hear those words on that day. Since 2003 I’ve had issues with tongue cancer, having had five biopsies. Twice it has been cancer. (Listen to my story in the episode “Diamonds in the Dust” of Living Life Unedited).

Fears and questions arose within me, as I faced another outpatient surgery. What would the result be? How long would it take to heal? The outpatient surgery is more complicated than an in-office procedure; how serious is this? The surgery happens right when I am taking the step of faith to start an Internet radio show and another tongue surgery keeps me from talking. This has been the strategy of the enemy that I’ve seen many times: when I take a step to go forward in ministry, there is another huge setback to overcome.

I knew where to take these questions–to my loving heavenly Father.

Through prayer, the Lord exchanged my fears for His peace and assurance. This was a Selah moment – resting in the Lord for the outcome.

When the day of the surgery came, I was prepared. Many people prayed for me, for which I am grateful.

The surgery went well, leaving me with stitches in my mouth. I dreaded the recovery because I wouldn’t be able to chew or swallow without pain.

The next day, the hugs from my nearly two year old grandson were a sweet salve for recovery of my spirit. Another Selah moment.

Recovery has taken time. Prayer and meditation on well-known scriptures brought me peace.

Here is one passage I recalled often:

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.    Psalm 103:1-5 NIV

Those words gave me focus, reminding me to praise God no matter what. It helped me remember the Lord’s benefits or forgiveness, healing and redemption, and not dwell on the pain and discomfort.

Another passage that comforted me was this reminder of God’s sovereign presence and rest.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Psalm 23:1-3

I found comfort in remembering the benefits of rest for the soul.

In the following days, I picked up my colored pencils and began doing some coloring pages. Coloring books for adults has become popular; I found some downloadable pages with bible verses on them and began coloring. Art therapy was relaxing and didn’t take much brainpower.

One week after the surgery, we traveled to Texas for some grandson therapy. The time visiting our son’s family was good medicine. The smiles and giggles of a three year old and one year old brought joy to us. Although I still rested and took naps, it was fun to be with them.A small white board went with me wherever I went for a week so I could communicate. The grandsons loved drawing on it.

The call from the doctor’s office brought good news: there was no malignancy! My heart felt lighter, as if it had a thousand helium balloons on it! This verse was in my heart:

I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known thru all generations.  Ps.89:1

I look forward to singing once more. And speaking for the Lord. My mouth is healing. I will make known God’s faithfulness. August was full of twists and turns for me. Instead of writing, I recovered from tongue surgery with silence, listening to the Lord whisper His words of peace and assurance. I am blessed! God is faithful.

If you are in a period of time when life is throwing you curves, look beyond the problems to trust the Lord. Recall the words of encouragement for your soul from scripture. Do some fun things that will relieve stress. Surround yourself with the special people in your life. Rest in the refuge of God’s love to find the selah moments.

Originally posted on: NancyKayGrace.com

Nancy has a degree in Family Studies and completed the Extraordinary Women course of the American Association of Christian Counselors;  she is a graduate of  CLASSeminar, “Speak Up with Confidence” and is an approved speaker for Stonecroft ministries.  She and her husband have taught a Bible college class on Marriage and Family. Nancy has been a hospice volunteer. All of these have given her a strong foundation and understanding to relate to women in all stages of life.