Recovering from an Unusual Altitude

I once read of an exercise that fighter pilots go through in their training. Taking the jet up to a high altitude the instructor then places a bag over the trainee’s head. The instructor will then take control of the aircraft taking them both on the most intense “rollercoaster ride” ever – loops, dives, spins and turns getting the trainee all discombobulated. It is then that the instructor plucks the bag off the trainees head and gives him control of the aircraft. It is now the trainee’s task to return the plane to the original altitude and bearing. They call this exercise, “Recovering from an Unusual Altitude.” Heh, no kiddin!

You know, I think we all can identify with that trainee pilot. Sometimes, our lives are jam packed with so much activity, we are moving at breakneck speed, and perhaps feel like we are on a collision course with something. What we need is break, a pause from the rollercoaster ride.

There is this word all throughout the book of Psalms that is often overlooked. Amongst these ancient Hebrew worship songs is the word “Selah.” It basically means “pause.” The intent of the word was so that the music would continue to play and the singer could reflect on the words that they were singing. Sometimes we call this “interlude.” Rather than just charge through the song and check it off the list as sung, “Selah” allowed the weight of the truths they were singing to take root in the singers mind. Slow down, reflect, and pause.

I think sometimes we need to practice “Selah” in our lives more often.

This summer we as a family had the opportunity do some traveling and see some beautiful sights. Perhaps the most memorable moment was our visit to the Badlands in South Dakota. We stood on this point looking over the vast landscape of “savage beauty.” They compare this place to the face of the moon! We felt in this moment that we were not even on earth, we were somewhere else, somewhere far away. In a sense we stepped outside of our life and saw it from a different perspective. It was a pause, a stepping outside of the normal routine. And from that point God gave us perspective, refuelling and perhaps some adjustment. The ride home was where this all came together as we discussed our life and where we felt God was taking us as a family. And, this probably wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t paused.

I think sometimes we get addicted to the busyness of life and a pause seems like a waste of time. We would rather just swing harder with the axe rather than take time to sharpen it.  But what if that “pause” allowed God the opportunity to refocus and sharpen you in a way that was actually for the better? What if that “pause” gave you perspective that you never had before?

Have you paused this summer? Have you taken a break from the rollercoaster and reflected on the direction of your life? Have you allowed God to speak into the interlude? Perhaps “Selah” needs to be a part of your life. And perhaps, you need to recover from an unusual altitude too.