---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Byron Wicker
To: People Who Keep Company with God
Date: 12/18/2008 7:13:10 AM
Subject: Selah

Dear People Who Keep Company with God,

This has been a particularly challenging time in our nation and none of us are exempt from the shakings that are occurring at this time. In fact, we need to be reminded that the Lord Himself is the one behind the shaking.

And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN." 27 This expression, "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:26-29

It is critically important for us to know that our Father is in control of all that is going on. Only He can righteously and properly shake the world. It gives me hope and comfort that everything is in His hands and that includes me, my family and our church. In the midst of the shaking I believe the Lord desires to remind His people of His goodness and care for each of us. When it is all over we will look back and see the great wisdom of God in all that is happening. If we will allow it we can come through this time better than we were.

King David was a man who lived through many shakings both personally and nationally and always seemed to find God in all he went through. Although David lived during the Old Covenant era he had a New Covenant revelation of the Lord; David knew God as a good God who would protect and care for Him regardless of what situation he found himself in. "The Lord is my light and salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?" Psalm 27:1. If there is one thing God wants to shake off all of us it is the Old Covenant view of God.

David knew heaven was a glorious place, but he knew that alone would not keep him in the midst of the storm. "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." Psalms 27:13. The thing that kept David through all the storms of life was the belief that he would see the Lord's goodness in his present circumstance. David understood Jesus' prayer of "on earth as it is in heaven" before it was ever prayed! This has been one of the great truths that the Lord has been restoring to the body of Christ over the past few years. Without a revelation of the kingdom of heaven being released in our present circumstances it is going to be impossible to not fall into despair. I believe the lack of this revelation is a root cause of the "love of many growing cold". God created us with a need to see His goodness in our lives on this earth as He absolutely loves to be good to us.

This past Sunday I believe the Lord was communicating that very thing to us. We experienced what Becky referred to as "Selah Worship". The word Selah is an unusual and somewhat mysterious word. It occurs at least seventy-one times in the Psalms, and three times in the Book of Habakkuk, (Habakkuk 3:3, 9 & 13). The meaning of the word is not really clear, but most commentators believe it may come from the Hebrew word caalah (OT: 5541), which means to strew or spread out, indicating the subject to which the word is attached should be spread out, meditated on, and attentively considered by the reader. During the worship this past Sunday many of us were spontaneously doing exactly that, meditating on and attentively considering all God had done in our lives. It was a very unique and special time of worship.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

He really is a good God. Selah.

Many Blessings, BW