Selah

Sela or Selah in Psalms denote a quiet lull in words or music. In 1 Samuel 23:28 it denotes a cliff of escape or cleft in the rock. Both a time of quiet & a place of refuge.

Elijah resorted there to hear the still small voice of God. Many say he ran from the Jezebel spirit but I say he ran to... 

he ran to the rock...

he ran past the chariot of the king & he ran right on into the cleft of the rock.

He ran to Sela.

Our human body & soul can be quickened by Holy Spirit to do amazing exploits but we have a natural battery which needs recharged within the cleft of the Rock. All of us. Every one of us.

When people criticize Pastors & Prophets who have been trailblazers (who then tire & trip up in some way)...

I ask those who are judging.. were you out there breaking ground? Were you angry because you needed them to hear the Lord for you? And they disappointed you? 

Their words should merely confirm what you heard directly from Jesus-for yourself. 

YOU NEED THE SELAH YOURSELF..YOU NEED THE STILL SMALL VOICE.

If you are of a critical, reviling or scolding tone... stop... 

and run to Selah!!!

You who criticize should also be there to pray for them & soften the fall when they are exhausted...and fall. But they should not have to get that far off...

if they are being properly supported & held accountable. 

Two way, mutual stewardship is what we need now, it's what they experienced in the New Testament.

Why does the forerunner trip?... often because others stood by & cheered (from a safe distance) when they did all the heavy lifting...

sometimes we parishioners error by watching like Adam from the sideline while Eve reaches past the safety of her soulmate. Letting another take all the risk never turns out well for the observer... either.

Let's all encourage each other to go to the cleft in the Rock who is Jesus. 

Let's all make sure (each layman & each overseer on ministry boards)...that our leaders, out front, have the necessary respite & quiet time. 

Why would it take a whistle blower to call a ministry into question? Should not every deacon & elder in that ministry be hearing from the Lord? 

This is the true ekklesia function. One another.. we need to one-another... each other. Relationship is about shared responsability. 

Surely observers saw they were getting dry in their words and brittle in their relationships?! 

"As followers of Moses they were all baptized in the cloud & sea. And all ate the same miraculous food, and all drank the same miraculous water. 

For they all- ALL - drank from the miraculous Rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ." 

1 Corinthians 10:2-4

None of these things should ever surprise... if we are ALL...walking in true, keen discernment.

 Discernment.. which is our absolute responsibility to Christ. To one another.

Should they not know ahead when a trap is being set? Yes! That is their responsability! Those gleening, guiding, profiting, depending on that ministry. They are the assigned watchmen.

It is our responsibility to uphold these forerunners. Encourage them and pray for them but don't ever be their 'YES MEN'.

You must send them, peacefully, to their Selah when needed. If you are a Joshua to a Moses....tell them the truth. Watch their backs. The enemy is seeking to devour but The Rock is closer.

"And they will not need to teach their neighbors...saying, you should know the Lord. For everyone from the least to the greatest, will already know me, says the Lord." 

Jeremiah 31:34

The Sela Rock is never far from any one of us. He is literally following along our trail. This must, once more, become our greatest priority! To run to our Selah. To know Him & to drink deeply of Him.

Did you know profound quiet is the height of praise & worship.? That's why it's represented as a high cliff or cave in a mountainous place. 

It's a place of refuge and sequestor with God...a place where the freshest living water flows from the cleft in the rock. Purest of pure Living Waters- from the mountains melting snow- this will cause your vision to become clear & far seeing. 

"From the ends of the earth I will cry to you for help, for my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety."

Psalm 61:2

We must stop expecting others to see for us...to drink for us...to know for us!

However, do honor, love & support those who are gifted with mountain top vision.

You cannot depend on any other for your personal, fresh insight... 

but you can always depend on The Rock, Jesus. He desires to protect you, fill you & quench your thirst.

Look to Jesus...Only Jesus.

Run to your Selah.

Footnote: this was inspired by controversy about news of yet another fallen minister.  Part of the problem is that these leaders are placed on pedestals which are not at all biblical.