Selah.
It’s a word used 74 times in the Old Testament text, primarily in the book of Psalms (71 times) with a few guest appearances in the book of Habakkuk (3 times). Selah is defined as a technical musical term probably showing accentuation, pause, interruption. Though it can be used in three different ways, I want to center in on the second one — pause.
The interesting irony is this — as we are days away from the middle of September, which means we are almost to the last quarter of the year. That also means we are about to come upon what I’ll call the rush. It’s the rush to start. It’s the rush to finish. It’s the rush to make the move and start the fitness program and open the account and start the business and this and that, etc.!
You know what I’m talking about, because your emails inbox is filling up just like mine with opportunities to start this program and join that movement, all for the sake of finishing the year as the best version of ourselves, right?
And well, I don’t believe there is anything wrong with starting or finishing now. However, I do believe that we should also engage selah. Before we get caught up in the cultural norm of keeping up and moving fast, we should engage in selah.
We should take time to selah.
We should take time to pause.
We should take time to breathe.
We should take time to simply be.
As we take time to selah and be, we can take a mental inventory of where we are and where we are going. We can invite Holy Spirit to be our conversation partner, to speak to us and to let us know if we’re on the path to fulfilling God’s purpose or if we’re walking in the way of our own plans. We can look through our faith files, to remind us of how God has kept us and been faithful to us; how God has been provision, protection and our source of power.
We can pause to take in the beauty and wonder of the world around us — the sound of the rain, the bustle of the wind, the warm of the sun, the glow of the moon. We can pause and allow ourselves to inhale peace and exhale courage toward the next step, even if it’s to remain in the pause.
Sure, the world is calling us to go for it, as if we are in the last 100 meters of the race, because we are, technically. And yet there is another call — to selah.
Though this was not the original movement of this article, I had an epiphany of sorts and ask that you go along with me. There are times selah will show up all its own to get our attention, by way of the third part of the definition — interruption. Such a moment can give us the opportunity to refocus. It’s as if there’s a rhythm of selah at work between the two words. The interruption just may be what’s needed for us to pause. The interruption that will inevitably lead to a pause will grace us with needed space to rest and recenter before heading back into the race. Selah gives us room for strategy and clarity so the next move can be the best move, even if it’s to remain in the pause.
Here in the middle of September, as we move through the rest of the year, may we be bold enough to engage selah as a pause and allow selah as an interruption.
So let it be.
Rae Karim can be reached at rae.karim@gmail.com.
