P.A.U.S.E.
Wouldn’t it be fun if life came with a Remote Control?
I can think of many sticky situations where it would be helpful to be able to press the fast-forward button to get out of! And then, of course, there are times when it’d be great to press the rewind button and not make some of the unfortunate mistakes we so frequently make. Some people speak such words of encouragement that I’d want to turn the volume up on them, and then, of course, some who I would like to press the mute button on! Unfortunately, the button that we would press the least would be the pause button because everything in our society and culture screams, “Do more, move faster, and get it done.” I understand this very realistically as someone with a strong bias toward action. Unfortunately, though, there is no remote control for life, and if we want to pause, we need to discipline ourselves to do it.
One of the reasons why it is often so hard for us to “press the pause” button on life is that we don’t understand the benefits of doing so. Below is an acronym I have developed that outlines some of the benefits of taking regular and deliberate pause times.
These words are taken directly from Psalm 23, which we often hear at funerals and in the context of death. This association is rather unfortunate because its words have the potential to offer a great life to us.
P – Provides For…
The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need (vs 1).
Our Lord, and Shepherd, provides for both our needs and our wants. One of the reasons why it is so hard for us to pause at times is because we are trying so hard to provide. There is nothing wrong with providing for our families, our loved ones, and even ourselves. But we must keep our ability to deliver in check – realizing that we can’t provide enough for ourselves and that only God can. When we establish periods of pause in our lives, we are reminded that God ultimately provides everything for us.
A – Assurance of…
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams (Vs. 2).
As the sheep are led to green pastures and peaceful rivers and are replenished and refreshed, I imagine their Shepherd will encourage them with words of assurance – “See, Mr. Sheep, I told you we’d get here.” It is consistent with the heart of God that we set aside times of pause and let him whisper words of assurance to us. We all need to hear that we are not alone, that there is a purpose to our struggles, and that God is faithful to his incredible promises. We need to listen to the assurances from God as the foundation for our identity. This happens when we pause.
U- U will be renewed
He renews my strength. He guides me along the right paths, bringing honor to his name. (Vs.3)
We will be renewed…. And, boy, are we in need of this. Our souls, bodies, and minds tire so quickly, and a renewal of these things is a quiet cry from all of us. King David, the Shepherd, offers two ways that this renewal happens. Firstly, by helping us get back on the right path. None of us set out to walk on the wrong path, but we unintentionally drift there. Moments of pause allow us to stop that which has us on the wrong path and put on the right one. Also, David says that being restored ensures honor is directed where it is due. When we go, go, go, we tend to start believing that we are worthy of honor. But ultimately, we are not – only Jesus is. Any honor we have comes from him.
S – Safety from…
Even when I walk through the darkest valley,[a]I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil (Vs. 4 & 5).
So often, we try to create a false sense of security for ourselves, but whatever security we can provide will ultimately fall short. David says we are safe from our most significant concerns – death and our enemies. He talks about death just being a shadow…, and for those in Christ, that’s precisely what it is because while our bodies will one day die, our souls will live forever. Also, we are told that we will feast with our enemies. This verse has always been challenging to understand but makes sense in light of Jesus' command to love our enemies. Abraham Lincoln once said the best way to “defeat an enemy is to make him a friend.” If we can dine with our enemies, they become friends; thus, we have no enemies. Pausing reminds us of the incredible safety that we have in Jesus.
E – Energizing Hope
My cup overflows with blessings.6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever (Vs. 6).
The final words of this Psalm energize our hope! How incredible it is that we will dwell in the house of the Lord together! Pausing allows us to be reminded of the great hope that we have in Jesus! We are adopted into his family as his sons and daughters! We are co-heirs with Christ; this means that what is his, he will fully share with us! It means that one day, we will reign with him in that great and glorious place that we call heaven where there is no more pain, no more tears, no more separation, and all that we struggle with now will be victoriously settled. What hope!
We must take time to PAUSE! If we don’t, we are in danger of missing out on some incredible things God wants to show and tell us!
I can think of many sticky situations where it would be helpful to be able to press the fast-forward button to get out of! And then, of course, there are times when it’d be great to press the rewind button and not make some of the unfortunate mistakes we so frequently make. Some people speak such words of encouragement that I’d want to turn the volume up on them, and then, of course, some who I would like to press the mute button on! Unfortunately, the button that we would press the least would be the pause button because everything in our society and culture screams, “Do more, move faster, and get it done.” I understand this very realistically as someone with a strong bias toward action. Unfortunately, though, there is no remote control for life, and if we want to pause, we need to discipline ourselves to do it.
One of the reasons why it is often so hard for us to “press the pause” button on life is that we don’t understand the benefits of doing so. Below is an acronym I have developed that outlines some of the benefits of taking regular and deliberate pause times.
These words are taken directly from Psalm 23, which we often hear at funerals and in the context of death. This association is rather unfortunate because its words have the potential to offer a great life to us.
P – Provides For…
The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need (vs 1).
Our Lord, and Shepherd, provides for both our needs and our wants. One of the reasons why it is so hard for us to pause at times is because we are trying so hard to provide. There is nothing wrong with providing for our families, our loved ones, and even ourselves. But we must keep our ability to deliver in check – realizing that we can’t provide enough for ourselves and that only God can. When we establish periods of pause in our lives, we are reminded that God ultimately provides everything for us.
A – Assurance of…
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams (Vs. 2).
As the sheep are led to green pastures and peaceful rivers and are replenished and refreshed, I imagine their Shepherd will encourage them with words of assurance – “See, Mr. Sheep, I told you we’d get here.” It is consistent with the heart of God that we set aside times of pause and let him whisper words of assurance to us. We all need to hear that we are not alone, that there is a purpose to our struggles, and that God is faithful to his incredible promises. We need to listen to the assurances from God as the foundation for our identity. This happens when we pause.
U- U will be renewed
He renews my strength. He guides me along the right paths, bringing honor to his name. (Vs.3)
We will be renewed…. And, boy, are we in need of this. Our souls, bodies, and minds tire so quickly, and a renewal of these things is a quiet cry from all of us. King David, the Shepherd, offers two ways that this renewal happens. Firstly, by helping us get back on the right path. None of us set out to walk on the wrong path, but we unintentionally drift there. Moments of pause allow us to stop that which has us on the wrong path and put on the right one. Also, David says that being restored ensures honor is directed where it is due. When we go, go, go, we tend to start believing that we are worthy of honor. But ultimately, we are not – only Jesus is. Any honor we have comes from him.
S – Safety from…
Even when I walk through the darkest valley,[a]I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil (Vs. 4 & 5).
So often, we try to create a false sense of security for ourselves, but whatever security we can provide will ultimately fall short. David says we are safe from our most significant concerns – death and our enemies. He talks about death just being a shadow…, and for those in Christ, that’s precisely what it is because while our bodies will one day die, our souls will live forever. Also, we are told that we will feast with our enemies. This verse has always been challenging to understand but makes sense in light of Jesus' command to love our enemies. Abraham Lincoln once said the best way to “defeat an enemy is to make him a friend.” If we can dine with our enemies, they become friends; thus, we have no enemies. Pausing reminds us of the incredible safety that we have in Jesus.
E – Energizing Hope
My cup overflows with blessings.6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever (Vs. 6).
The final words of this Psalm energize our hope! How incredible it is that we will dwell in the house of the Lord together! Pausing allows us to be reminded of the great hope that we have in Jesus! We are adopted into his family as his sons and daughters! We are co-heirs with Christ; this means that what is his, he will fully share with us! It means that one day, we will reign with him in that great and glorious place that we call heaven where there is no more pain, no more tears, no more separation, and all that we struggle with now will be victoriously settled. What hope!
We must take time to PAUSE! If we don’t, we are in danger of missing out on some incredible things God wants to show and tell us!
Recent
Archive
2024
2023
2022
May
Categories
no categories
No Comments