In our busy days, remember Selah
Selah word appears many times in the Psalms. At one time, it was mainly used to give musical direction, but it has come to mean pause and calmly think of that.
David uses it at the end of profound statements. For example, Psalm 24:10 reads: Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah. This word tells the reader to stop and ponder the rich meaning of this statement.
The cadence of our lives should include selah – pauses. Our souls crave thinking time, moments of observation and reflection, time to stare at the sky and get lost in its beauty, time to listen to earth’s sounds and consider how many generations have listened to those same sounds.
The holy intermission of Selah, allows the truth of God’s word to sink deep into our souls. Work is necessary. It pays the mortgage, clothes the kids and puts food on the table. It also tends to dominate life and leave little time for restful thought. Even the volunteer work we do in church and community can control our lives to the point that we miss God’s rhythm of rest.
The orderliness of time is imbedded in creation. Days of twenty-four hours, seven of which make a week, four weeks in a twenty-eight day cycle of the moon circling the earth. Hearts beat, harvests ripen, babies are birthed in harmony with God’s rhythm.
Sensitive souls sometimes feel they are the answer to every plea. God’s true calling can be easily lost in all a frenzy of activity.
Paul wrote, “Here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him” Romans 12:1,2 MSG)
Holy work of all kinds usually doesn’t bring us closer to God. But laying our ordinary days on His altar and embracing what he does with them will bring us closer.
Eugene Peterson wrote, “Worship is the style of life in which our bodies become living sacrifices offered up to God.”(1) This takes the meaning of worship out of the prayer-preaching-singing box and extends it to encompass all twenty-four hours of our ordinary days, including rest and sleep.
God’s Spirit lives in us, not for the purpose of driving us from one project to another, but for the purpose of friendship and fellowship with Him. Selah.
Mark Buchanan, in his book, The Rest of God, writes about a man who lived life at full tilt; every minute of his day was earmarked. He rose early, worked a full day, went to the gym, made dinner dates with business connections, arrived home late, fell into bed and started over again the next day. Then, a debilitating disease knocked him off his feet, forcing him to slow down. He spent time with his wife and children. He read more, prayed more, pondered more often. He said at one point, “I know God is trying to get my attention. I just can’t figure out what He wants my attention for. He must want me to do something.” Mark said to him, “Maybe that is the problem. You think God wants your attention in order for you to do something. Maybe He just wants your attention.”(2)
When our lives harmonize with God’s rhythm our joy increases. In the pauses, we gather hanging threads from frayed thoughts and weave them into pleasing patterns. Best of all, we hear His voice, deep in our inner souls, whispering truth.
Remember Selah.
(1) Eugene H. Peterson, The Message, Conversations edition, Navpress.
(2) Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God, W Publishing
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