Last night at church we had our First Wednesday Worship night. It’s a time we set aside each month just to worship the Lord. My husband wasn’t able to be there right when it started, so I got to open the service and the Lord gave me a word of encouragement to share.
“It’s the end of the day, and many of us walked into this place with our minds full of the day. Work. Kids. What’s happening in our nation and globally. The things of life can fight for our focus.
Glance at the world. Gaze at Jesus. We glance at the things going on around us. We are not to be ignorant and uninformed. But that’s not what is to hold our attention. We are to fix our eyes on Him.
We choose where we focus our attention, so walk away from distractions and take every thought captive. It’s December 1st. The beginning of the most wonderful time of the year which can also be the busiest and most stressful and chaotic time of the year.
We get to set the atmosphere of our lives, and we are starting this month by choosing to worship. Tonight, this is a holy place and a sacred space where we will meet Him face to face.
“I have heard you say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.'” (Psalm 27:8) We are not here tonight by accident. We are here tonight on purpose because we heard Him calling us, “Come and talk with Me.” And we are responding. We are responding with our worship.”
It was such a divine night full of holy moments for me. He came so close and there was such an intimate atmosphere in the church. Words cannot describe.
Then I woke up early this morning, thinking of the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42 (you can read it here). I find myself here a lot lately and I see something new every time. Today it was Martha.
Martha gets a bad rap. Have you ever heard anyone say, “Don’t be a Martha? Be Mary.” They’re talking about being too busy to sit at the feet of Jesus.
Martha is the one that invited Jesus into their home. She wanted Him there. She invited Him in. She loved Jesus. If it wasn’t for Martha, Jesus’ feet wouldn’t have been at their table for Mary to sit at. Mary should have been thanking Martha for bringing Him into their atmosphere.
Jesus didn’t correct Martha’s serving. He never once told her, “Stop what you’re doing and come sit down. What you’re doing is wrong.” We look at what He said to Mary as an admonishment for Martha to stop everything and sit. But is that really what He said?
The CWSB version describes Martha as being “encumbered about much serving.” That word encumbered means to draw different ways at the same time. She was torn. She was pulled in multiple directions at one time. Has anyone ever been there? She wanted to be sitting at His feet but she also wanted to bless Him with a beautiful meal.
This encumbering brought about anxiety in her soul that lead her to ask Him, “Do you not care?” Care. Aren’t you concerned? Aren’t you anxious?
Listen. I think Martha’s love language was acts of service. It was how she expressed love and how she received love. (Mary’s was probably quality time, but that’s another conversation for another day.)
I recognize it because it’s also mine. And there are times I look around at my sink full of dirty dishes and think, “Doesn’t anyone care about me?” Of course they do, but they aren’t “anxious” about dirty dishes the same way I am because they aren’t me.
The words Jesus then uses to describe Martha are interesting. Careful and troubled. Careful is a mind full of anxious care. Troubled means disturbed. An uproar. A crowd’s noise. Agitated. Annoyed. The antonyms are to be still, to be at peace, to be quiet, to relax.
A crowd’s noise. What a picture that paints. There isn’t any peace and quiet in a crowd. That’s not relaxing. It actually causes angst.
The crowd’s noise wasn’t what was happening around her. It’s what was happening inside of her.
Busy isn’t necessarily bad. Jesus never once told her to sit down. He didn’t deal with her actions, but He did bring attention to what needed fixed in her soul.
He was more concerned with what was happening in her soul than what was happening in her schedule. It’s not that He didn’t want her to serve. He didn’t want her to carry the weight or care of it. He didn’t want her anxious about it.
It’s possible to be incredibly busy and not be anxious or distracted. I go back to what He gave me for church last night. Glance at the world. Gaze at Jesus.
There’s a fight for our souls, especially in this season of peace on earth and joy to the world, and we need to win it.
This month there will be a need for “much serving.” There will be extra tasks to accomplish that just can’t wait. There will be gifts to buy and wrap, cookies to bake, meals to plan, parties and events and concerts and plays that require extra time that we don’t always have.
We don’t have control over what’s happening around us but we always have control over what’s happening in us. At all times and on every occasion, we have control over our souls.
Glance at the world but gaze at Jesus. Be busy, but don’t be anxious. Make your to-do list, but stay connected to Him while you’re running your errands and doing the things.
In Martha’s day, in order to be with Jesus, you had to physically be in close proximity. She couldn’t be in the kitchen and at His feet in the other room at the same time. But for us, with the precious Holy Spirit residing in us, we can be running errands and sitting at His feet simultaneously.
We can be a Martha and a Mary at the same time. It’s beautiful!
Our focus is our choice, no matter how busy we are. And when we keep our eyes firmly fixed on Him, we will stay at peace no matter how many directions we are pulled in.
Glance at the world. Gaze at Jesus.
