Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. – Luke 10:38-42
Today’s society is consumed with busyness. It is always “go, go, go” and hustle-and-bustle with no time for stillness or quietness. Women in today’s society lead chaotic and hectic lives! They work jobs, clean their houses, take care of their families, go grocery shopping, cook the meals, keep track of everyone’s schedules, do the laundry, and the list goes on and on! They barely have time to take care of themselves, let alone have time to spend with the Lord. It may seem as if this is a recent struggle for Christian women, but truly it is far from new.
In the story of Mary and Martha, we find Martha cumbered about much serving, while Mary, her sister, sat at Jesus’ feet. Martha received Jesus into her house, but she was consumed with everything going on around her. Though what Martha was doing was a good thing, she was so busy that she had neglected something more important—spending time with the Lord. Women are usually very hard working, and Christian women in particular love to be of service. We often have a habit of overloading our plates; we do not know when or how to say, “No.” As Martha did, we get so busy doing things, even good things, that we become overwhelmed, stressed, and sometimes even depressed. We become tired and cranky, and even lose our joy. Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. We will become weak and ineffective as Christians when we lose our joy.
So many Christian ladies, especially new Christians, get involved in so many things that they neglect their own personal walks with the Lord. Like Martha, they have received Jesus, but they are not spending any time with Him. No amount of service can replace the time spent alone with the Lord.
My husband truly appreciates the work that I do by taking care of the house and children. However, no amount of work done around the house or in taking care of our children will measure up to spending time with my husband. He wants and deserves my attention. How much more does our Heavenly Father desire and deserve our attention!
When we allow ourselves to get overly busy, we may resort to complaining about being exhausted and even risk becoming unpleasant to those around us. No one wants to serve the Lord while wondering if the miserable person with whom he is serving was forced to help! For the sake of those around us and for our own sanities, we must make time to rest. We must spend time with the Lord! Matthew 11:28 says, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. True rest is only found by coming to the Lord.
In Matthew 14:23, the Bible says that Jesus went apart to pray. If even Jesus needed to take time to get away from everyone and pray, how much more do we need to do the same?! In Mark 6:31, we see that Jesus told His disciples to come apart and rest a while. When a Christian quits his ministries, that void can become an avenue for the Devil to use to make the Christian become idle and even cause him to backslide. However, I do believe it is essential to have periods of rest. Vacations are good, but we must not let them become a vacation from God. When we take time to rest, we should rest in and with the Lord. Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us that to everything there is a season. We must strive for balance in our Christian lives if we want to be effective for the cause of Christ.
Ultimately, we need to learn to be like Mary and sit at Jesus’ feet. It is needful for us to choose to take time to hear His Word and talk to Him. I know how busy a day can be, but if we are too busy for God, we are too busy! We must mark it on our calendars, put it on our “to do” lists, or get up earlier. We must do whatever we must do to make sure we can be found at the feet of Jesus at some time during the day. I hope that each lady reading this devotion will remember that in this world of Marthas, we need to be more like Mary!
by Crystal Collingsworth
