By Megan Barnett, director of spiritual integration
In May, my son, Jack, was born. Like many parents know, life with a young baby is wonderful, beautiful, and exhausting. Last week, Jack entered his four-month sleep regression a little early and decided that 2 a.m. was party time! He wasn’t screaming or angry, just awake and wanting to be with us.
By the weekend, my husband, David, and I were running on fumes. We canceled our plans, took turns napping, and spent intentional time resting and enjoying our son. We couldn’t eliminate the nighttime wakeups, but we could rest and refill our hearts for the week ahead.
On Monday morning, I noticed something surprising. The circumstances hadn’t changed, but I had. Because I had taken time to reset, I found myself able to enjoy those quiet early morning moments with my smiley little boy.
Megan laughs with her son, Jack.
The need for a time of refilling
You don’t need to be a new parent to relate. We all know what it feels like to pour ourselves out for an extended season.
HOPE International found itself in that place at the conclusion of our 2020 – 2025 strategic plan. By God’s grace, we saw tremendous growth and impact around the world. As 2025 came to a close, we were serving thousands more families, equipping many more local churches, and seeing our programs evolve and expand in exciting ways.
Yet our leadership recognized an important truth: Even good work can crowd out our attentiveness to God, if we’re not careful. We hadn’t experienced mission drift, but we knew that we needed to be intentional to prevent it. We sensed the Lord inviting us into a season of slowing down, remembering His faithfulness, and seeking His direction for the future.
Just as David and I did not stop parenting this weekend (we still had 2 a.m. parties with our happy boy) HOPE did not stop the important work that the Lord has placed before us. But our team took time to collectively rejoice in all the Lord had done and to refocus on Him.
What it looked like
During the first quarter of 2026, we intentionally set aside additional time for corporate prayer, reflection, gratitude, and discernment.
We partnered with other trusted organizations, engaged in spiritual practices together, and focused our attention on celebrating God’s faithfulness and listening for His leading. We called this the “Season of Selah,” borrowing the Hebrew word found in the Psalms which is often understood as an invitation to pause and reflect.
The result more was more rest alone—we experienced renewed clarity, gratitude, and dependence on Christ as we looked ahead to the next season of ministry. And isn’t that something we all yearn for?
You don’t need an organizational invitation to participate in this type of “Selah.”
What can this look like in your own life?
Most of us will never lead a global ministry or participate in an organizational season of discernment. But all of us experience seasons of running hard.
Intentional pauses help us remember that our value is not found in what we accomplish and that God’s voice is often heard most clearly when we slow down long enough to listen. They create space for peace to replace striving, for gratitude to replace worry, and for God’s leading to shape our next steps.
Here are a few ways Christians have done that through the centuries:
The Prayer of Examen
The Prayer of Examen is a daily or weekly review of your life with God, reflecting on where you experienced His presence, where you struggled, and where you need His grace tomorrow.
Practicing gratitude
Keeping a gratitude journal may seem small, but it helps retrain our attention toward God’s faithfulness when our minds are naturally drawn toward problems, disappointments, or anxieties.
Sabbath
Set aside a regular period of time, whether a few hours, a full day, or part of a weekend, to stop striving and remember that God is the one sustaining your life.
This might mean taking a walk, sharing a meal with loved ones, worshiping, reading, or simply resting without feeling guilty about it.
A personal retreat
Jesus frequently withdrew to quiet places to pray. Schedule a half-day or full-day retreat away from the noise of the world. Bring a Bible, journal, and a few questions:
Where have I seen God’s faithfulness recently?
What might God be inviting me to release?
What is He teaching me in this season?
Fix your eyes on Jesus
Whether it’s five minutes at the end of a day, an afternoon of reflection, or a weekend retreat, these intentional pauses remind us of a truth we easily forget: God never asked us to carry His mission alone.
Times of Selah may not change our circumstances, but they do change our perspective and remind us of the God who is sovereign over our circumstances.
Perhaps the invitation of Selah is simply this: pause, remember God’s faithfulness, and fix your eyes on Jesus before taking the next step forward.
Megan joined HOPE International in 2022 and worked in the executive office before transitioning into her current role on the spiritual integration team. Previously, she served as associate pastor where she led youth ministry, supported event planning, and designed a women’s ministry from scratch. She holds a M.A. in theology and ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary and a B.A. in Christian ministries from Messiah University. She lives with her family in the Lancaster area.
For more reflections and insights on strengthening your walk with God, check out this reflection on fighting compassion fatigue or one of HOPE’s YouVersion devotionals.
