Selah

Welcome to 2025!

Today is my first attempt at a blog for the newest year. I have been busy with the holidays and some other things, and I have been really challenged to come up with something to write about. I’ve had a bunch of ideas go through my head at different times but none of them felt “right” or interesting enough to spend the time.

As 2024 was coming to an end I was sitting alone in the house prying my eyes open to see the Peach Drop from downtown Atlanta and of course the Ball Drop from New York City I starting to reflect on the kinds of things that went on in 2024 and then was attempting to put a mental list of the things I wanted to accomplish in 2025. I quit doing resolutions several years back, but I at least give it a go in my brain.

For me, the end of the year seems to be a reflective time. Others simply throw away the old calendar and replace it with the new one and move on their way. To be fair, most people that make resolutions do not accomplish them, but I think it’s always a good thing to try and get better, even if it is in small increments.

As I sat reflecting, I was somewhat curious to why I was having such a hard time coming up with something to write about. I tried reading, listening to music, talking with friends and family, watching shows and movies, looking at old photos but still the mental cupboard was bare. I shrugged my shoulders and told myself that something would pop in my thoughts soon enough. But that did not happen right away. I was uneasy that I was missing something.

Recently I was reading in Psalms, and I ran across a word that I had seen before but honestly had never given much thought to. I kept seeing it pop up rather frequently and the curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to dig a little deeper and find out what it meant.

Hey Machine…what’s the word? I’m glad you asked; the word is Selah. As an example, Psalm 66:4 says the following: “All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you; they sing the praises of your name. Selah!”

It only appears in Psalms and Habakkuk in the Old Testament. There is a great deal of uncertainty about the meaning of selah. Most versions of the Bible do not attempt to translate selah but simply transliterate the word straight from the Hebrew. Selah is also thought to be rendered from two Hebrew words: s_lah, “to praise”; and s_lal, “to lift up.” Another commentator believes it comes from salah, “to pause.” From salah comes the belief that selah is a musical notation signifying a rest to the singers and/or instrumentalists who performed the psalms. If this is true, then each time selah appears in a psalm, the musicians paused, perhaps to take a breath, to sing a cappella, or to let the instruments play alone. Perhaps they were pausing to praise the One about whom the song was speaking, perhaps even lifting their hands in worship. This theory would encompass all these meanings — “praise,” “lift up,” and “pause.” In the three verses in Habakkuk, selah could mean “to pause and praise.” Habakkuk’s prayer in chapter 3 inspires the reader to pause and praise God for His mercy, power, sustaining grace, and sufficiency.

Perhaps the best way to think of selah is a combination of all these meanings. The Amplified Bible adds “pause and calmly think about that” to each verse where selah appears. When we see the word selah in a psalm, we should pause to carefully weigh the meaning of what we have just read or heard, lifting up our hearts in praise to God for His great truths.

I enjoy learning new things, so that was fine to learn a new word but what really stuck with me was why was this word pinging on my brain so much? What am I to do with this new knowledge and insight to an obscure word in the Bible, if anything?

So, you know what I did? I took a few days to pause, praise, lift up, and slowdown from the frenetic pace of the holidays and just take some time to slow down enough for a while and listen to see if He was trying to tell me something. That’s what today’s blog will be about. I appreciate your time to pause and reflect on it (see what I did there?!).

But First…A Joke:

A town (in Michigan) had a church bell that was rung every hour. One day, the rope broke, and the minister couldn’t find anyone to fix it. Finally, a man came by to offer his services. He had a freakishly large head and a skull as hard as steel. “I heard the bell rope is broken,” he said, his giant head bobbing. “I can be your new bell ringer."

The minister was doubtful. “This is very important,” he explained. “The bell must be rung every hour between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. How can you do that with a broken rope?” “I have it all figured out,” said the visitor as he nodded his huge head enthusiastically. “It’s almost noon,” the minister pointed out. “Please show me your plan.”

Instead of walking up the stairs of the bell tower, the man sprinted up the spiral staircase, faster and faster until he achieved enough momentum to ram his giant head into the bell. The ringing echoed through the town. “You’re hired!” said the minister.

Every day, from morning till night, the man rang the bell. The locals came to respect and adore him. One day, during a rainstorm, the man was dashing up the steps to ring the bell. He slipped on the wet stairs, tumbled over the side of the staircase, and unfortunately fell to his demise. Two townspeople rushed over. One asked, “Who is that?’ The second responded, “I never learned his name, but his face rings a bell.”

The bell ringer’s funeral was attended by everyone in Ann Arbor. Afterward, a familiar-looking man approached the minister. “The bell ringer was my brother,” the newcomer said. The resemblance was obvious: This man also had a giant head with a skull as hard as steel. “After seeing how beloved he was and how kind everyone is here, I’d like to be your new bell ringer,” the brother said. Delighted, the minister agreed.

The new bell ringer was just as dependable as his late brother. But soon another downpour hit the town. As the bell ringer raced up the stairs, he slipped, tumbled over the railing, and fell to his death. The same two townspeople rushed over. The first asked, “Do you know him?” The second replied, “Not really, but he’s a dead ringer for his brother.”

Bonus Dad Joke:

Q: Which side of the horse has the most hair?

A: The outside!

A Verse to Contemplate:

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need - Hebrews 4:16

Have I Told You This One?

For those who know me and my family, you know the last three years have been a struggle and a challenge since Michelle passed away. As I shared in the last few blogs, I have started to feel an urge and strong desire to start moving forward with my life.

I believe that God has been teaching me what the word Selah means over this time period. I have had a lot of time to pause and think and pray and praise and ponder what the whole point of all of this has been. I have come to a few conclusions, but I still am not sure of the big question WHY? However, I do believe that God has been graceful with me and my family and has been saying many things and the end of it He is saying “Selah, my son.” I have not heard any audible voices or anything like that, but I believe without a doubt that these last three years has been a time for me to pause, reflect and as hard as it is to accept, praise Him.

I can remember walking to my car in the parking deck after watching Michelle breathe her last breath here with us. I was walking in a stunned silence, and I remember stopping just outside my car and pleading “No Lord, Please not this!” I got into my car, and I cried out in prayer of how awful and what bad timing this was, and WHY? WHY? WHY? I had so many questions and He seemed so far away and silent. The crashing waves of sorrow in that moment were overwhelming. Over the next days, weeks, months and years I have wrestled with God, I have fought the temptation to be angry with Him. I’ve experienced sadness that drilled a hole in my chest. I’ve read book after book to try and understand all of this and how to deal with grief and loneliness. My quest for spiritual survival opened my heart to an historic and biblical form of prayer called lament.

A quick solution to my problems was not going to happen and it probably won’t happen with you either when it’s your turn to grieve. I believe I was given permission to wrestle with sorrow instead of rushing to end it. Without understanding it fully I have come to understand lament is a helpful gift from the Lord. Lament gives me/us the permission to vocalize the pain as it moves me/us toward God and not away from Him. In short, it helps me to process my pain. Silence, bitterness, and even anger can dominate my spiritual life instead which is clearly not healthy or desired.

Lament is how Christians grieve. It is how I learned important truths about God and the world. A belief in God’s mercy, redemption, and sovereignty create lament. Without trust in God and a faith that can’t be broken even in the worst of times there is no point to complain. To cry is for sure human but to lament is very Christian. Lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust.

Have you ever heard someone shout out “Amen” after a preacher or someone else says something that they deeply agree with? Amen means “so be it.” In Psalms when you see Selah added to the end of a verse or statement it means to pause and reflect on how awesome the truth was that was just spoken. It might mean “Whoa, don’t miss this.” I hope I was able to give praise where it is due. This is not meant to illustrate some big breakthrough for me but rather how great and patient He is, especially in the darkest hours and days.

Thanks for letting me vent some today and I hope someone finds this helpful.

A Prayer:

Heavenly Father, You are holy! I bow before You in worship with a humble heart. May Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

Book Recommendation:

Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them by John Ortberg (2003)

Music Recommendation:

Lucille by B.B. King (1968)

Quote of the Day:

“If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?” - Abraham Lincoln

Cool City to Visit:

Milwaukee, Wisconsin