Experiencing God's Presence #271

Experiencing God's Presence #271

The Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about.”

Luke 10:41-42

It’s a familiar story with a familiar message. Jesus is visiting the home of some friends, and Martha is busy preparing a big dinner for the honored guest and others who have gathered. Mary, as a cohost, is expected to help with all the preparations; that’s normal in this culture. But Mary departs from normalcy and sits at the feet of Jesus, listening to Him teach. Martha is offended by the unfairness, but Jesus commends Mary for forsaking busyness and investing her time in what’s most important.

God wants us to fulfill our responsibilities, of course, but only with the right perspective. What would He say of our fast-paced times? “I see people striving for so many things—to fulfill their responsibilities to their families, to earn an income—but often doing these good things in a way that shows a motivation for status, comfort, pride, protecting themselves in the future, impressing people, or even simply greed. They envision a dream and then spend themselves on reaching it, but they never really do. They pursue ‘needs’ that aren’t needs. All the while, they neglect Me, the one who could give them status, security, promises for fulfillment, comfort, and so much more in a moment’s time. They have real, deep-down desires but are trying to fulfill them in misguided and inefficient ways. If they invested more time in Me and less time in their strategies, I would give them better results, both internally and externally.”

We know this is true. We tell ourselves often that we need to slow down and prioritize the Lord’s Presence. Still, we keep running the rat race, spinning our wheels, chasing the wind, or whatever other metaphor describes our condition so well. We have to stop. Literally. Sitting and listening is more important than anything else we can do.

Lord, forgive my busyness. Whatever it costs, help me not to skip my time with You.