Friday, July 13, 2012

Don't Miss The Shift


The word selah in biblical terms means pause or silence. Many have expounded that it also means to meditate and think solemnly. But the word selah also means to shift. In musical terms selah was a direction to uplift and accentuate, change the tempo. During a bible study with a spiritual mentor, Minister Kathie Coker, she highlighted the fact that if you pay attention to the Psalms of David, before the selah, David is in a certain place. Then after the  selah his words change.

Take Psalms 3 for example:
Psa 3:1  [[A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.]] LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many [are] they that rise up against me.
Psa 3:2  Many [there be] which say of my soul, [There is] no help for him in God. Selah.
Psa 3:3  But thou, O LORD, [art] a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
Psa 3:4  I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.
Psa 3:5  I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.
Psa 3:6  I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set [themselves] against me round about.
Psa 3:7  Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies [upon] the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
Psa 3:8 Salvation [belongeth] unto the LORD: thy blessing [is] upon thy people. Selah.

In verses 1-3, David was focused on his troubles; under the circumstances, understandably so. He was being chased out of his Kingdom by his ego-driven, spoiled son. He is the same son who raped his own sister and defiled David’s honor as a king. Yet this reckless son inspired such fear in King David’s heart that he was fleeing from his kingdom. He then began to address the problem.

Then in verses 3 and 4, he pauses and shifts his song. He begins to sing about the solution. He first reminded himself of what God is, contrary to the problems that stand against him. God is a shield, God lifts his head, God sustains him. He remembered his God and the many ways he has saved him from men after his life and praised him from that place.

Don’t stay stuck in the downbeat, SHIFT to the upbeat, to the accent. Remember your God and the great things He has done for you. At this point in your life, like David, you can identify where God has shielded, lifted, and sustained you. Shift your thinking and mindset. Focus on the victory.

Find more at www.H23LivingEverydayLife.blogspot.com. Listen to our weekly radio show at www.blgtalkradio.com/H23LivingEverydayLife.

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