As I write this blog I can hear the sound of a plane flying above, of cars driving by, and the sound of construction workers and their machinery. I can hear people talking and children playing. I can hear the sound of phones ringing, the air conditioning running, and music somewhere in the background. I can hear the sound of birds chirping and every so often the wind blowing. Then there are the internal voices, sometimes of hope and other times of hopelessness. The truth is that we live in a very noisy world, so noisy that oftentimes it drowns out the most important sound of all, the sound of the voice of God.   

In spite of all the noises we have to deal with on a daily basis, not many of us will ever live in a noisier world than King David did. On the one hand he had to listen to the sound of his father who did not think God would ever consider him to be king. He also heard the sound of King Saul’s voice threatening to kill him; all this while at the same time hearing the voices of the multitudes chanting, “Saul has killed thousands, and David his tens of thousands. Then on the other hand, he heard the sounds of war, death, setbacks, and victories. But somehow in the middle of all those sounds, David found time to pause to hear God’s voice. I call these “Selah” moments.

The word Selah appears 75 times in the Bible, 71 of those times in the Book of Psalms. There are three possible definitions for this word but most theologians agree that it means to pause. A second possible definition is to weigh or measure and a third possible definition means to praise. I believe that all three definitions are appropriate and I believe that King David thought so as well.

Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah 

– Psalms 03: 1-2 NKJ

David paused and pondered. 

I cried to the Lord with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah – Psalms 3:4 NKJ

David Paused and cried out as he weighed what hung in the balance. 

Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah – Psalms 3:8 NKJ

David paused and turned off all other sounds, pondered what God had said to him, and this resulted in David praising God. 

If you pause and ponder upon God’s goodness and grace you too, even in the middle of a pandemic and a financial collapse, will end up praising God.  

Selah – pause, ponder and praise!