Don’t be too Busy to Breathe!

Christian Soul Care Devotional

“Inviting God’s touch in your soul”

By Bill Gaultiere © 2010

Kent was ten minutes late for his meeting with me again. He tried to make a joke of it, “I’m sorry. I guess I need 25 hours in my day!” Invariably he ran late for meetings and events because he was always trying to squeeze one more thing into his day.

When he complained about having too much to do and being tired of rushing around all the time I commented, “I think you like being in a hurry and doing so much. Maybe the feeling of urgency and importance energizes you. And besides it drives you finger-drumming, foot-tapping crazy when you have to wait for people!”

Kent thought that his hurried, overcrowded life was inevitable for him as a pastor who had a family and lived in Orange County, CA in the 21^st Century. But I helped him to see that actually he was choosing to fill up his calendar and to race from thing to thing. And that this lifestyle was keeping him from enjoying God’s peace and it was making it hard for him to hear God’s voice.

From time to time Kent had been nourished by the God of Peace, like on extended family vacations or spiritual retreats. But it would always take him a long time to enter into a relaxed state of being and once he returned to his daily responsibilities he would go right back to his hurried self.

Leave a Margin

After a number of weeks of talking with me about his anxious pace of life Kent realized that he needed to make a lifestyle change. To enjoy more of God’s peace he would have to prostrate his productivity before the Lord. To appreciate God’s grace moment-by-moment he would have to slow down his speed. Kent needed to learn to live with margin.

Just as a page like this one has margins of white space around the edges, between paragraphs, and even a little bit between the lines and words so also our lives can have spaces. We can learn to add margin in our day by…

• Leaving early for engagements
• Making fewer commitments
• Scheduling breaks
• Turning off the television or computer to sit quietly
• Keeping a Sabbath during the week
• Driving slower on the roads
• And even walking slow enough to feel the sun, see the flowers, hear the birds, and say hello to people!

Margin is about saying no to a culture that rewards busyness and being overextended. It means saying no to your own desires for self-importance. It requires being able to say no to the expectations and needs of other people. Jesus set boundaries like this. When we say no in these ways it frees us live by the wisdom of the Bible: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15).

Pray “Selah”

The word for margin in the Bible is “Selah.” 72 times the Psalmist prays or sings Selah – often right in the middle of a sentence! Selah probably means, “Pause to reflect in prayer.” Selah is an unhurried space to breathe and to appreciate God’s loving presence.

To learn to practice “Selah” Kent started scheduling less in his day so that he could arrive early for meetings and use the extra few minutes to take a breather. Well, as you might imagine (and perhaps as you can sympathize!), at first this was very difficult for him! He kept being late even though he tried not to be. And when he did arrive early he was quite uncomfortable: his body was restless, his mind kept running through lists of things he needed to do or problems he needed to solve, and he felt resentful that someone was making him wait. (Previously it had not occurred to him that his habit of being late was putting other people in that situation!)

Try a Breath Prayer

I encouraged Kent to practice a Selah during the minutes of waiting by using a verse of Scripture as a Breath Prayer. For instance, one of his favorite prayers to use in meditation that I taught him was:

• “In Christ alone my soul finds rest… Selah.” (Inspired by Psalm 62:1, 5)

To help Kent to slow down his antsy body and jitterbugging thoughts I showed him how to use relaxed, deep breathing as part of his meditation on Scripture. Deliberate breathing is a proven technique for reducing anxiety. And it’s a simple way to put your body into praying Scripture in order to help you to engage your mind with God’s Word.

Let me show you what I shared with Kent…

• Breathe in deep and slow as you whisper: “In Christ alone my soul finds rest…”

• Hold your breath and your concentration on God’s Word…

• Then breathe out as you whisper: “Selah…”

As Kent waited for a meeting or an event he slowly repeated his Selah prayer from Psalm 62, taking about seven to ten seconds for each prayer. He prayed into his jittery body: “In Christ alone my soul finds rest… Selah.” He prayed into the intrusive anxious thoughts that came into his mind: “In Christ alone my soul finds rest… Selah.” He prayed into his frustration at having to wait: “In Christ alone my soul finds rest… Selah.”

And Kent grew in God’s peace. What a blessing this was for him, his family, and his church!

Partner with us for Soul Shepherding

God called us to devote our careers to the ministry of Soul Shepherding for pastors like Kent and you can help. Read our story.

Thank you!

Bill & Kristi