After the Quiet Place Comes Multiplication

God has been speaking to me about the quiet place. In Mark 6 it says “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭6:31-32‬ ‭NIV‬‬ This weekend we had found our own “quiet place” on a little camping trip. As I was thanking God for that quiet place, God said, “You know what comes after the quiet place right?...Miracles.” Wow. I hadn’t thought of that. I immediately looked up that passage in Mark to see exactly what miracle was next, and smiled as I read what was there. Loaves and fishes- the miracle of multiplication. God whispered “The quiet place precedes the miracle of multiplication where all went away satisfied”. For some the quiet place is something that is craved. Like Jesus and the disciples, too much was clamoring for attention in their lives that you need to reminder right now to let God take you to the quiet place. Don’t be afraid to lay down everything and take that time with Him alone. The promise in Mark 6 is that after that quiet time, when you offer WHAT LITTLE YOU HAVE (even if you’re feeling overwhelmed or inadequate), that God will multiply it as He did the fishes and loaves, and everything will be SATISFIED. Satisfied can be defined several ways- to meet a need, to provide, to meet an obligation or demand, to make true, or to pay off. Let each one of those sit in your spirit. These things follow the quiet time when we pull back to be with the Lord... but we don’t stay pulled back! The temptation for you may be to quit. To stay in the quiet place indefinitely. But God has better ideas. When, after the quiet place, we then re-enter the situation WITH the Lord and bring what we have to be combined with His miraculous power, and it becomes ENOUGH. The Latin roots for satisfied are “satis” and “facere” with literally mean “enough” and “make”. To make enough. God is going to make it enough. It’s important to note also that this wasn’t a miracle God chose to do alone. He partnered with what was made available. What do you have to give? It may seem small or like it falls short in comparison to what is needed from you, but God sees what you have through the lens of WHAT IT CAN DO WHEN COMBINED WITH HIS MULTIPLYING POWER. Give it anyway and see what God does. And just the same way Mark 6 finishes, it will end with all that needs to be taken care of being “satisfied”. For others you’ve BEEN in the quiet place. God has taken you aside in the boat to the quiet place some time back, and you feel that not much is happening. You’re wondering what’s after the quiet place and hoping that there is something hopeful and exciting coming. The word for you is that the quiet place Biblically was used TO PREPARE TO GO BACK IN. This preparation was for the miraculous. If you’re feeling stuck or like things have been too quiet- let this encourage you too. God is preparing you to get back in there! God is about to use you in a mighty way. Again, looking at the ending of the story, ALL were satisfied. This included the disciples too. This coming season of partnering with the divine and giving as you’re led will be satisfying to you as well. “They ALL ate and were SATISFIED,” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭6:42‬ ‭NIV