Taking A Pause

“After Jesus had sent them away, he went by himself up into the hills to pray.  It was late, and Jesus was there alone.”  Matthew 14:23

A friend posted on Facebook that she took a “Pause Day.”  She had been so caught up in the busyness of life that she forgot to just be present.  She paused and slowed herself down and refreshed herself in the beauty around her.  She gave herself a gift and a reminder that being busy is not always the purpose in life.

We live in a society that celebrates being busy.  If you tell someone you’ve been busy, they think that’s great.  Is it really?  What are you busy doing and is it what you enjoy and want to live your life doing? Yes, we need to make a living and work and take care of our responsibilities, but do we ever pause and enjoy the life that is around us?

 Do you pause when you are overwhelmed and feel the heavy burdens of the day and go outside and just look up?  Yes, there is such healing and calmness that comes over us when we look up.  We only see the sky, the clouds, the sun, the trees, and at night the moon and stars.  We see nothing made by human hands.  The pause and looking up usually includes a sigh.  Wow!  This beauty was made for this moment just for me.

 If you have a “To Do List” either written down or in your head, you continue to mark off what you accomplished, but you also add more to the list.  Our “to do list” is never complete.  There is always something to do, so when you say, “I’ll take a break when everything is done.”  There is never a time everything is done.  There are times when tasks are completed, and you feel good about taking a break.  But for some of you, your thoughts are racing toward what needs to be done and anxiety builds when you are not busy.

 Our thoughts and mind need a pause along with our physical bodies.  We can get so caught up in what society says is important that we lose sight of our priorities and what gives life purpose and meaning.  The “crowd” in our lives is social media, our own expectations and what we think others expect from us.  We get lost and need to take a pause.

 Jesus in Matthew 14:23, sends the crowd away.  Jesus has just feed the five thousand people with bread and fish by multiplying a little boy’s lunch.  Jesus has taught them, and he has a group of people who are filled with emotion and are ready to make Jesus King and follow Him.  Jesus could have stayed and baptized and converted the thousands – that’s what society would have wanted him to do.  Make a name for himself, become popular, get busy and set up a plan to overthrow the Roman Empire.  But instead, Jesus sends the crowd away and goes up into the hills to pray.

Jesus is teaching us something very important.  The world and other people can tell you what is important and what they think is good for you. What is vital to who you are and whose you are. There are a lot of good opportunities to keep you busy and places to volunteer and lots of stuff to do and buy and…..the list is endless which creates the busyness of life.  It is pausing in life and deciding what is vital and what is your priority.  Jesus teaches us that sometimes you need to pause and say “no” to the demands of life and yes to time with God.

 It is time to take some pause days or moments.  Reflect on what has you feeling overwhelmed, busy, weary, troubled, burdened, and anxious.  Are these your priorities in life or are you busy doing what everyone else expects?  Are you carrying the load that God did not mean for you to carry alone?  Are you depending on God even in the struggles and pains of life?  Pause and give God glory and trust Him even when you do not understand why you have to go through it.  Pause, and say, “I trust you, Jesus.”  Pause and look up.  Pause and step away into the hills and pray.  Pause and go on an adventure.

 We tend to let stuff that doesn’t really matter be in control.  Pause and step back.  If you do not find joy and Jesus in what you see in your life, maybe it’s time to pause and listen to God’s Spirit and voice within you.  Jesus did.  What was a good opportunity was not His purpose.  His purpose was to suffer and die for you and me.  His purpose was the cross.

 Pause in this season of your life.  Get a drink of water.  Sit on your porch.  Sit at the beach.  Sit in your favorite chair.  Take a boat ride.  Take a walk.  Go for a bike ride.  Read a book.  Pray.  Talk with God.  Have a conversation with Jesus.  Life is broken and fallen and tough, but God is still good and God is with you.  Pause and release and re-focus.  Listen to God.  Move closer to the people God puts in front of you.

Let’s pause.

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