24 Jan Selah
“Selah” – it’s a Hebrew word found about 73 times in Scripture, mostly in the book of Psalms. “Selah” is a musical term meaning “pause” or “interruption”. I like the Amplified Bible translation which reads, “Selah – pause and calmly think of that.”
Sometimes we just need to take a moment; pause and calmly think about what we’ve just done, just experienced, or in the case below, what we’ve just read.
Thursday morning I opened the Dallas Morning News to see, yet another, surreal photograph of the tragedy and destruction in Haiti that absolutly defies imagination. It’s almost unbearable to read day after day of the enormity of such devastation and the hundreds of thousands of lives lost in this quake and the aftermath.
And then I read the most beautiful story of hope in the miraculous recovery of 5 year old “Monley” who had been trapped for nearly 8 days under the flattened apartment building that had once been his home. His uncle, Gary, had been searching through the rubble, where his brother and sister-in-law had died, in hopes of finding Monley’s “body”. Here’s a portion of the story –
Monley said the day of the quake had been his father’s birthday, and his father was relaxing in the house as they prepared to celebrate. When the apartment began to shake, Monley said, “I tried to run but a door fell and blocked me, and my shirt got ripped.”
He said he kneeled in a corner of the house, with his head cocked to the side, as the house came down. And that’s how they found him.
I’ve been overwhelmed by this little boy and his story. I imagined that precious child trapped there in that tight corner, pinned in by all the debris. What must have been going through that little mind as he grew tired and thirsty and hungry? Was he scared to death or even aware of what was happening? Did he cry out to his parents who had been killed? Did he even cry at all? What did he do for nearly 8 days… alone… in the dark?
I’ll tell you what I believe… what I know happened. Monley was not alone, and Monley was not afraid. That darling thing was “pinned” against the Lord’s chest; his little body wrapped tightly in the Almighty’s embrace as Jesus sang to him, laughed with him and whispered to that sweet child for 8 long days and 7 long nights, “Don’t be afraid, Monley. It’s going to be alright. I’ve got you, Monley. I’ve got you and I am not ever going to leave you or let you go.”
I tell you, that little boy had some serious one-on-one face time with Jesus. I just know he did! I know it because He tells us over and over in His Word – “Do not fear. I will never leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:8).
Never!
Maybe I’m writing this because I needed to be reminded of that fact as I faced another surgery last Friday morning. Maybe I’m writinng this because none of us knows when our own “world” will start shaking in some way and life might get just a little… frightening and scary.
What about you? Does fear have you pinned in a corner… in the dark… all alone? Or are you hiding in the shelter of the Almighty?
Selah!
Pause and calmly think of that, sister.
In His grip ~
Punky
How You Can Help in Haiti
We are grieving and mourning with those suffering on the devastated island of Haiti. A week and a half ago a 7.0 earthquake struck the city of Port-au-Prince. The death toll is already over 150,000; the emotional aftershocks will be ongoing. Your ongoing help is greatly needed and there are many ways that we, as the body of Christ, can help: First, please pray for the Haitian survivors and their families, the local volunteers who are currently serving there, and the medical volunteers across the country who are assembling teams to provide aid and relief.
Second – if you are financially able, your contributions can be made online through one of the very reputable organizations below. Every little bit helps!
Hatian Relief & Mission Emanuel:
(an outreach of The Gathering USA, Inc.)
http://missionemanuel.org/
World Vision:
http://www.worldvision.org
Compassion International:
http://www.compassion.com
The American Red Cross:
http://www.redcross.org