“OH, clap your hands, all you people!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For the LORD Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.
He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves
Selah.”
Psalm 47:1-4
There is it. That strange word, Selah. It kept creeping up. Subtly at first, but again and again in my daily life, but also in my personal time with the Lord. What did it mean? Like most people today, I did a quick search. An article by Jason Soroski came up with the question I was asking myself; “What Does Selah Mean in the Bible and Why is it Important?” was the title of his article. (Link to Jason’s article will be below)
According to Soroski’s analysis, Selah means, “to pause, or reflect.” To pause. To reflect. Both ideas almost seem foreign in and of themselves in today’s high paced culture of instant gratification. Selah. The word kept sitting with me.
Though no one knows for certain what selah means, the closest and most consistent interpretation of it that I have found has been to pause and to reflect. This is something I and many other parents I know struggle with. In the chaos of parenting, trying to navigate building a new business, editing, writing and keep my home running…to pause feels like falling behind in something. This never ending, sinking feeling like something is going to get missed. Something is going to be a disaster, because frankly, I’m human and cannot juggle it all. Selah. What is this word and why does it keep showing up?
You see, most parents love their children deeply and want them to thrive in life. Parents tend to want to do what is best for their children. As a Christian, I believe my number one job in life is teaching my children about Jesus Christ and how He died on the cross for all of their sins and for the world. To provide them with the foundations of knowing God in today’s world is my number one priority because it is attached to their eternal souls.
Selah; to pause, to reflect.
This was the passage that my Bible opened to right next to me. This was one of the Psalms that God encouraged my soul with today as I looked at everything I have to do. You see, nothing in life is given or taken away without God’s permission. When I’m feeling overwhelmed, God is always right there to remind and guide each thought and step when I hand my anxiety to Him. You see, God knows us better than we know ourselves.
Selah is to pause and to reflect. To reflect on God’s faithfulness. To reflect on God’s goodness. Selah. To reflect on God’s holiness. It is an invitation for each of us to stop and just think about God. To think about the sacrifice He made with His son, Jesus Christ, to save humanity from our fallen nature. To pause and reflect. Though life may go at lightning speed with seemingly never ending tasks to accomplish; remember, Selah…with a capital S for emphasis! For God is good and He is faithful to all those who love Him and follow His voice. The least we can do in life is take time to pause and reflect on God for all of His faithfulness.
Amen! We must trust He will take care of things and will allow us the time to Selah and receive of His spirit which will actually allow us to live out the rest of our day more successfully, joyfully, and prosperously!