Mary Pasternak, our Better Health coordinator taught us to Stop. Take a deep breath. Breathe in. Breath out. Slowly. Now again. It’s amazing how that can calm you down.

 Psalm 46 helps understand Who God is and why we should come ready to listen. Then the word Selah appears. It’s a term designed to cue musicians. It simply means pause. Every musician and every good speaker knows the power of the pause. Selah. Pause. Reflect. Be still and know that I am God!

 The purpose of silence is not to receive secret messages from God. Yet somehow during silence the Holy Spirit has a way of communicating with us. God transforms our heart more truly for Him and our decisions are more likely to accomplish God’s will. Sustained periods of quietness are essential for that to happen.

 Selah. Pause. Take a deep breath. Now exhale. Be still and know that I am God.

 A college student took six postcards and wrote a large letter on each postcard: L–E–T-G–O–D. He then put them on the mantelpiece in his room where he was living at school. One evening a draft blew through the window and the “D” blew away. As he picked it up, what he saw seemed to be a message from God, the secret of the Christian life. Only by letting go can you let God carry out His will in your life.

 Lord, I am willing

To receive what You give

To lack what You withhold

To relinquish what You take

To suffer what You inflict

To be what You require.

And, Lord, if others are to be Your messengers to me,

I am willing to hear and heed

What they have to say. Amen.  —Nelson Mink, Pocket Pearls