Selah: "Just Think of That"
“Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to God, at a time of distress.” Selah.
~ Psalm 32:6 (RSV)
The word “Selah” at the end of this section of scripture is used 74 times in the Old Testament. All are used in the Psalms except for three that are used in Habakkuk. Bible scholars have given multiple meaning and possible explanations for the meaning of the word, but the most often referred to is “pause” or “to reflect.” This is the meaning of the word I wish to use here, pause and reflect. Also I like the way one person translated the word Selah, “Just think of that.”
On what is the Psalmist suggesting that one should pause and reflect or to what should one give some deep serious thought, and spend time in prayer. It is, “at a time of distress.”
In his book, A Mind Frozen In Time, Dr. Jeremy Crosby states, “Stress is a natural part of life. There is positive stress, “eustress” (pronounced ‘you-stress’) which motivates us to accomplish tasks and be positive. However, when stress lasts too long and starts wearing us down it becomes ‘distress’ and is harmful.”
In his chapter on “Stress Management,” he gives these definitions of physical and psychological stress.
Physical stress – Any specific situation or event that threatens the health of the body or has an undesirable effect on its functioning.
Psychological stress – Anything that challenges or interferes with a person’s ability to think, make decisions, or function in life.”
It is most often the psychological stress that makes us less productive than we would like to be, and causes us to do things we really never intended to do.
It is when stress becomes “distress” that the Psalmist encourages us to take the FIRST STEP to get us back to “normal.” Take it to God in prayer.
““Be still and know that I am God.” ”
In the chapter on “Stress Management,” he lists 10 strategies on managing stress. Since is it difficult to try to remember 10 things at one setting to help you deal with your distress, I want to focus on the one I think is the most important with which to start. He states, “Spend Some Quiet Time Each Day.” It is listed as the, PRACTICE MEDITATION EXERCISE.
PRACTICE MEDITATION, needs to include reading a portion of the Bible (just a few verses) and prayer. In his book The Purpose Driven Life (What on Earth Am I Here for) Rick Warren shares these thoughts about meditation. “When you think about a problem over and over in your mind, that’s called worry (distress). When you think about God’s Word (verses from the Bible), that’s meditation. If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate. You just need to switch your attention from your problem to Bible verses. The more you meditate on God’s Word, the less you have to worry about.”
Psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors, after many years of counseling with individuals and families about distressful situations they face, have come to the conclusion that the number one problem that brings unwanted stress to individuals and families is not money, rather the lack of it. “There is just not enough to go around. Can’t pay the rent this month if I pay the electric bill. Money for food, money for gas, money for clothes. Just don’t know how we are going to make ends meet.” Ever hear people say these things or maybe you have said them yourself?
Did you know the Bible has an answer for resolving such a “distressful issue” as not having enough money? Selah, just think of that. If you could resolve that one “distressful issue,” much of your other distresses will automatically be resolved. In Matthew 6:25-33 Christ Jesus addresses that problem, lack of money, Himself. Selah! Pause and listen and reflect on what He says.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. ARE YOU NOT OF MORE VALUE THAN THEM? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry (be distressed) saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’. . . Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But more than anything else, put God’s work first, and do what He wants and asks of you. Then these other things will be given to you as well.” The apostle Paul wrote, “My God will fully satisfy (supply) every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
I could have listed the 10 strategies from his chapter “Stress Management,” which are all good, but if you are like me you probably would only remember one, maybe two of them, unless you wrote them down or put them on your phone to carry the list with you. So again, I have just focused on the one which I believe is the most important one with which to start. Get you an easy to read Bible and read a few verses every day. Two good places to start reading are the Psalms in the Old Testament, and the Gospel of John in the New Testament. And spend a few minutes in prayer. If you will do this daily, I believe you will find that many of your “distressful issues” will resolve themselves. Isaiah 26:3 says, “The Lord will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him, because it is in You Lord, that he trust.” Selah! Just think of that!!!