[Today’s devotion on quieting your soul is a part of the Weekend Word devotional series. Come back every Saturday for fresh insights from God’s Word to jumpstart your week.] 

Read: Psalm 62

Today’s Scripture: “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him . . . Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah“ (Psalm 62:5, 8, ESV).

“Why aren’t you working? I need you to work for me right now!” I screamed at my phone before forcefully throwing it down onto the passenger seat of my car.

I sat in my car at the local park, frustrated with how my week was going. My thoughts were racing, I had several emotions about to explode inside of me, and all I wanted was to play games and listen to music on my phone while I wandered around the park.

I wanted to use my phone as a distraction rather than deal with the things I was feeling.

With my battery draining at a ridiculous pace and my phone unable to pick up service, all I could do at that moment was plug it back into the car charger and fight back tears of frustration.

As I was about to berate myself for crying over something as absurd as my phone not working, I felt a gentle tug at my heart. I wasn’t crying because of the cell phone. The phone was just the tipping point. I had held everything else in, and now it was all coming out.

I took a few deep breaths and laid out all my feelings before God. I gave Him all my fears, anxieties, and struggles. I pleaded with him for help because I knew that the only way I could carry on was with Him by my side.

Last week we discussed finding rest in God. We’ve also talked about having honest conversations with Him. Today we’re going to reflect on doing a mixture of both.

As I look back on that day in the park, I’m reminded of Psalm 62. In this psalm, David writes: “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him” (v. 5). I thought what I needed was to experience momentary joy through the apps my phone had to offer. I didn’t realize until I was denied that comfort that I was seeking a distraction rather than healing.

Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with playing games on your phone. It just wasn’t what I truly needed at the time.

Famous preacher Charles Spurgeon writes of Psalm 62:5 in The Treasury of David: “The soul is apt to be dragged away from its anchorage, or is readily tempted to add a second confidence to the one sole and sure ground of reliance; we must, therefore, stir ourselves up to maintain the holy position which we were at first able to assume.”

In other words, we are apt to rely on things other than God when we need help. It could be a phone, another person, an activity, food, or anything else that brings us comfort. While many of these things are okay on their own, and we should ask others for help when we need it, God wants us to find our hope in Him alone. Because ultimately, He’s the only one who can truly satisfy us.

Cleared from distractions, I was able to quiet my soul (v. 5) before God and pour out my heart (v. 8) to Him.

It’s fitting that verse 8 ends with the word selah. While the meaning of the word selah is still mysterious, many people interpret it to mean “pause” or “silence.”

After reading a verse that encourages us to pour out our hearts to God, it’s the perfect opportunity to take a moment to pause, be still, and receive the hope that we seek from the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3).

Once my prayer was over, I sat in silence as Francesca Battistelli’s “Defender” came on the radio.  As I closed my eyes and listened, I knew God was going to take care of me.

Today’s Thoughts: Have you taken time lately to quiet your soul before God and pour out your heart to Him? Distractions in our lives make that difficult to do at times. How can you minimize those distractions so that you can give your soul the time it needs to find healing in God alone? 

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