Today’s Reading: Psalm 75

3 When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants, it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah
Psalm 75:3

Notice that last word of the focus verse: Selah. 

No one quite knows what it means. The Psalms were probably set to music originally, so it may be a musical designation of some kind. It may also speak a liturgical word, as the Psalms were the hymnal of the Temple. 

While we do not know its exact function, it’s reasonable to say the word indicates a pause, an interruption, to the flow of the psalm. When I read, I take it as a moment to pause and consider what’s just been said. 

Here, selah asks the reader to pause and consider, “when the earth totters, with all its inhabitants, it is I [God] who keep its pillars steady.” Consider how God keeps the world steady, even in disruption. Consider that the world experiences significant disruption. Consider how weak and out of control we can feel. Consider how strong and in control God is. 

It’s easy, when reading and praying the Psalms, to gloss over statements and not fully consider. Selah asks us to pause, with purpose, and consider.

Think
Where does the world seem weak and out of control today? What makes you feel like the earth totters? 

Pray
Bring those areas to God in prayer, asking God to keep the pillars of the earth steady. 

Do
Read this Psalm, or another with Selah in it, pausing and considering at each instance.

Think, Pray, Do. As we respond in faith to scripture, God moves in power through our minds, hearts, and bodies. We are the people of God. Thanks for reading today. Go in peace. Amen.

Think, Pray, Do devotionals by Ted Goshorn follow the suggested bible reading plan from his website and book, Prayer Changes Us. Find this Bible reading plan at tedgoshorn.org/biblereading. If you have found today’s devotion helpful, don’t forget to subscribe for daily emails at tedgoshorn.org and share with others that we may think, pray, and do faithfully.