Seventy-one times in the Psalm, Selah is inserted for reasons we still don’t fully understand. Some believe the word might be a signal for a mystical interlude. Some see it as an emphasis for what was just said, or maybe something that will be said after. There are plenty of thoughts on what Selah means. What most of the theories have in common, though, is that they identify the word Selah as a suggestion to pause and reflect on what the Psalm says about God. 

We don’t take much time these days to pause and reflect. We’re too much like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. Always late for a very important date, but the hurrier we go, the behinder we get. Going hard in our society is rewarded, but then rest is often distractions like a TV, video game, or social media. Pausing and reflecting just seem, well, boring.

What if it weren’t though? What if we trained ourselves to simply pause and reflect on God throughout the day, at the end of the day, or whenever else. Maybe we spend just a minute at a time at first, and perhaps we increase it a bit more each day. Before long we might just find out why the Pslam writers suggested that we Selah here and there. It might be the best thing, for it might allow us to find moments with God.