Do you have One? That is, “a Sacred Pause-Place? Does it have a Voice? How do you know when it’s yours? Is it a high dollar car? Does it obey red and green or need a foot pedal because it’s color blind? Or, is it just a Desolate Place?
“The people follow the example of the Lord setting apart space for divine services as He did for the Tabernacle (Exodus 27:9-19). Jesus taught in the synagogue (Luke 4:15-16) and at the Temple (Matthew 21:12-13). The people gathered in open fields, hillsides, and near the sea.” (Matthew 14:13-21).
“Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.” Matthew 14:13-21 ESV
Q What had Jesus heard that made him withdraw and go to a desolate place by Himself?
A“But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.”
Matthew 14:6-9, 11-12 ESV
Q What happen to Jesus after this? Did he have a Pause? Place?
A “Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; … he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.” Matthew 14:15, 23-24 ESV
Q How did Jesus get off that mountain and find another boat to get him safely re-united with his disciplines.
A “Very early in the morning he came to his disciples, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified and said, “It’s a ghost!” They were so frightened they screamed. Just then Jesus spoke to them, “Be encouraged! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
Matthew 14:25-27 CEB
Are we beginning to ID our Sacred Pause-Place!
I have my “Sacred Space-Place”. Do you? If not, think about these words from the Psalmist:
“Be still, and know that I am God”! (Ps 46:10) You might ask me ‘why’ is ‘Be and know’? My answer, “I, God, will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”.
—Psalm 46:10 (NRSVUE)
thedailylily.com 
Sara your beautiful photo, probing questions and the Q and A’s you have provided sure help us realize the importance of having a “a Sacred Pause-Place”. If Jesus, God, needed this, how much more do we! And the scripture you shared, “Be still, and know that I am God”, is the Voice of God telling us to pause in His sacred place…for where He is…is sacred.
I was thinking about deserted place and looked up a couple definitions:“(of a place) deserted of people and in a state of bleak and dismal emptiness”; 1. devoid of inhabitants and visitors”.
That must mean a place that is free of distractions where you can be still/quiet and listen for His voice. It appears that Jesus had several “Sacred-Pause-Places”.
You asked, “Do you have One? That is, “a Sacred Pause-Place? Does it have a Voice? How do you know when it’s yours?”
Most of the time my “Sacred Pause-Place” is my ‘office’ in my home where I can shut the door, the distractions, the noise, etc. And when there is noise from outside or inside, the hum of the fans I run drowns out most of it. I like to go outside in the evening when I can and sit and be still. Often there is too much ‘people noise’ and I retreat to my office; other times it’s the background symphony of the cicadas and crickets and frogs….which is ok for me.
I noticed from the scripture readings that the crowds followed Jesus to one of the desolate places and from that desolate place came the amazing ministry/miracles of feeding all those people.
I really appreciate your explanation on this, “You might ask me ‘why’ is ‘Be and know’? My answer, “I, God, will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”.
bee 🐝 and know = God will be exalted
The other morning, as I was leaving for work, early in the morning…I looked up in the sky and the colors were so beautiful. Blues, pinks, reddish-orange, and it seemed to be so quiet and still. Reading this blog reminded me of that morning and how peaceful, quiet, and still everything seemed to be. 🙏
Tammy, I was just telling some people how beautiful the NC skies are in your area and of course over by the ocean. The colors seem to capture the whole being and I believe if God whispered we would hear it.
💜💜💜….. Sara, I can just hear my maternal grandmother saying…”the handy works of the Lord.”🥰🙏
And, I can hear her, too! Oh, how we miss her and others that labored very hard to add to His Handiwork in the earth! And, the earth is His and all of us that dwell here.
We are celebrating “Labor Day” tomorrow, Sept 1 and all this weekend and Alice Furlough has her name written within many hearts as part of the reason we celebrate this day.
“a public holiday or day of festivitiesheld in honor of working people, in the US and Canada on the first Monday in September, in many other countries on May 1.”
Heavenly Father, we give thanks for your Beloved daughter,Alice Furlough, and other women and men that labored to make our lives better so we could also be productivity for ourselves and others. 🙏🙌
Tammy, I can remember as a little girl and with great fondness sitting in a little church in Creswell NC and seeing your grandmother in her favorite pew singing from her heart; 🎶 “Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun, Let us talk of all his wondrous love and care; / Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done, / And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.”
Let us pause to remember she and others! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Debi, your words, “noticed from the scripture readings that the crowds followed Jesus to one of the desolate places and from that desolate place came the amazing ministry/miracles of feeding all those people.” And, many, like Alice, continued and continues today feeding all the people. Farmers! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼What a blessing! And, Debi, didn’t you feel called of God to be part of the farming industry?
“And, many, like Alice, continued and continues today feeding all the people.”
I join you Sara, in giving thanks for Alice. The few times that I was privileged to meet/see her, I recall 2 things clearly: her jars of fig preserves; and the songs she taught and sang with a small group of us in her living room; my favorite one being, “Drifting Too Far From the Shore” in which one of the lines said, “Come to Jesus today, let him show you the way, You are drifting too far from the shore.”
“Farmers! What a blessing! And, Debi, didn’t you feel called of God to be part of the farming industry?” Yes, farmers are a blessing, Sara. Without farmers we would have no food, and no food means no life in this body; no food for livestock; no plants for fibers like cotton; medicines, cosmetics, etc. etc.
And yes, Sara, from an early age I recall the satisfaction of having my hands in the dirt. Then many years later, God called me out of studying architecture to studying agriculture, where I felt I was in my element. After more years filled with ups and downs and in and outs, I received a prophetic word from you, Sara, which clearly said, “I have called you into agriculture.” That word firmly anchored my soul, enabled me to pursue being a “part of the farming industry”, and I hang onto it even to this day.
🥰🙏🙌✝️ what a legacy to leave behind for all of us still here. My grandmother always pointed us to Jesus and that’s the greatest legacy isn’t it? Oh how I need to leave the same legacy for my grands, family, and others ✝️🙏🙏🙏
And, you are Tammy! 🙏
💜🙏✝️