CMCC Connections – 19 May 2021

Little words. “But.” “Therefore.” “Sorry.” “Why?” “How?” “When?” “No.” “Yes.” When reading Scripture, the “but’s” and “therefore’s” are often key to understanding what the author is trying to communicate.

There’s another little word that is often overlooked. It’s found in the Psalms (71 times) and Habakkuk (3 times). “Selah.”

“The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth

 from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets..

 Our God comes and will not be silent…

the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God Himself is judge.”

Selah

Psalm 50:1-6

Selah: possible definitions

• a liturgical/musical mark calling for a break in the singing of the Psalm
• a break in the song that stresses the truth and importance of the preceding passage
• pause in His presence… pause and consider this… stop and listen

This little word jumped out at me this morning during my devotions… because I realized that often, unfortunately, when I’m reading God’s Word I plow ahead without taking time to stop and consider WHAT it is that I have read and HOW God wants to use it my life (i.e. the application). In the above verses, Asaph, one of the leaders of music during the time of King David, is trying to get our attention, trying to have us slow down and mull over what we have just read so that we consider who our God is.

Selah could – should – probably be stamped in large letters upon our world these days. Slow down. Consider who God is. He has gotten the world’s attention by allowing COVID to stop us in our tracks… ALL of us. But are we listening to what He may be saying – to us individually? to us as a church family? to us, the world?

As we’ve ping-ponged from openings to closings to openings, hopes raised with promises of vaccines and dashed when supplies run out or are inaccessible… could it be God is wanting us to remember that HE is the one in whom our trust must lie… no other person or circumstance or…???

“Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations He has brought on the earth….

 ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’

The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

Selah

Psalm 46:8-11

Stay safe! Stay healthy! STAY CONNECTED!

Warmly,

Mary Ginter

on behalf of the Pastoral Care Team (cmcc.connections@gmail.com)