Distracted

Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Luke 10:40, NIV

Can you feel Martha’s intensity in this scene? Some of us may want to hand her a chill pill, but I have a hunch that most of us can identify with her anxiety. Her to-do list loomed, and she was stressfully distracted.

“Tell her to help me!” The exclamation point makes Martha’s point difficult to miss. I feel her pain, and I cannot help but laugh every time I read this because I see myself in her. I see my sin. I see my own distractions in life and how much I wish that someone would help me!

I’m not laughing about my sin. I’m laughing in gladness that God put this story in His Word. He reminds me again that He knows me so well. He knows my weaknesses and my strengths and how my driven personality can be both a weakness and a strength in my life. My laughter results from pure joy that our big God, Creator of the universe, would be so kind to reveal this propensity we women have to be “worried and upset about many things.” After calling Martha’s name not just once but twice, Jesus reminded her plainly, “Only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (verses 41-42).

I call Mary and Martha the sweet M&Ms. They have different personalities, but both are infinitely loved and valued by the Lord. I’m touched that He calls Martha’s name twice. I hear Him say to me, “Kimmie, Kimmie, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed—it’s Me!”

Let the Lord speak to you right now. “_____________, _____________, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed—it’s Me!”