Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42 NRSV
Are you worried and distracted by many things? It’s a common temptation that the devil uses to keep you from growing in the knowledge of the Lord. He wants you to focus on works instead of relationships.
Worry is not from God. He is the Prince of Peace.
Distraction is not from God. He is a God of Order.
We have a choice, every second of every day, about what we give our attention to. I am gifted by the Lord with a condition the world calls attention deficit disorder. The funny thing is there’s no shortage of attention. That’s absurd.
I hyperfocus on things that interest me to the exclusion of everything else and find the rest painfully boring. It’s a difference in attention regulation from neurotypical people.
I’m unable to focus on things that I find not worth my time. I don’t see that as a disorder or disability, it’s simply a different way of living that makes perfect sense to me. It’s being efficient. Why waste your time and attention on something that doesn’t matter in the long run?
Let’s look at the example of Mary and Martha. Martha was being a good hostess and was giving it her all. But she soon grew to resent that her sister was doing what came naturally to her instead of helping Martha on her personal mission of appearing to be the hostess with the mostest.
She even went so far as to implore the Lord to make Mary work instead of sit as His feet listening. Martha was driven by a performance mentality while Mary was motivated by humility.
The whole point of inviting Jesus in was to fellowship and learn from Him. He wasn’t concerned if the meal was ready on time. In fact, the longer it took, the better. That meant more time in the presence of the Lord for those who were listening to Him teach.
Isn’t this the case with our religiously scheduled lives? We become slaves to our schedules instead of servants of God. How can God use us if none of our time is available to stop and listen to Him?
I think, talk and move very quickly. I’m on hyperdrive so it makes it difficult for me to slow down sometimes and do what Mary did. But it’s the very thing that is needed to inform everything else I do.
Isn’t it time we quit thrashing around and get some rest? Instead of lamenting common sense protocols to protect public health, what if we looked at the golden opportunity God is giving us to take a Sabbath rest?
Yesterday, the Lord told me to read the Bible when I wanted to read books on ministry. I was thinking about how to better prepare myself to be useful when the Lord just wanted to talk with me.
He told me to read First and Second Thessalonians. It was wonderful. It confirmed many things I had been observing. It also convicted and spoke correction into my life. A simple word from the Lord, from the Holy Scriptures, was what I needed to find peace and direction. Thank You, Lord.
If you need a word from God, go read your Bible. It’s chock-full of nothing but Holy Spirit inspired truth. Truth for living. Truth for loving. Truth to be acted upon. He’ll give you more in your daily conversations in prayer with Him, but if you need a starting point, start with the written Word of God. Sit, read, reflect, pray and listen. It’s the better part of this life.
May God give you an insatiable thirst for His Word. May your desire to know Him be unquenchable. May you live and breathe His Word in your daily life. And may it renew your mind and transform you into the image and likeness of God. In the Name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 NRSV
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