40 But 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!"
Martha was busy! Her attention and concentration were drawn away from the teachings of the Teacher to the details of the preparations and service. How very easy it is for us to get distracted in much the same way! Our motives for service may be as pure as refined gold - perhaps like Martha, a compassionate desire to help the needy – yet our focus is pulled away from the most important – the tyranny of the urgent creeps in and overtakes us! I think my toes are getting ready to be stepped on! Scripture tells us in Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Heb 12:1-3 (NIV)
As Jesus pioneered our path of faith, we would do well to keep Him as our focus! He teaches us how to walk the walk without frenzy. In Come Away My Beloved – a unique and powerful devotional book written as if God is writing to us personally, Frances J. Roberts states: "I want your life, character, and personality to be as beautiful and lovely as I visualized you to be when I created you. Much has not developed perfectly. Some early beauty has been marred. Live close to Me, and let Me remold and re-create until I see in you the image of all I want you to be. I love you, My child – My very dear and special child. Through your childhood years I walked very close to you, and in your childlike way you were very conscious of My presence and reality. You have made an arduous journey. You have climbed many mountains that you could easily have walked around. You have not chosen the pleasant path nor sought joys though they were readily accessible. You have often misconstrued My will and felt that only in sacrifice and suffering could you please me, while much of the time I have longed to deliver you out of the very pains you inflicted upon yourself. You meant to please Me, but in truth you were only marring your own beauty which is precious to Me. I cannot rejoice in a blighted rose. You have gone far enough in this way. I offer you My path now, if you are strong enough to accept it. Life, liberty, love, and joy. Health and peace – simplicity and rest. It has been there for you all along. You can have it even now if you will. I do not want you to work for Me under pressure and tension like a machine – striving to produce, produce. I only want you to live with Me as a person. I have waited for you to wear yourself out. I knew you would find it eventually – the secret of silence and rest, of solitude and of song.” Silence, rest, solitude and song sound great to me! They can be ours if we, like Mary, sit at the feet of Jesus. An example of this in Scripture that I personally find very interesting is in Matthew, prior to the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus and His disciples are confronted with a vast sea of hurting humanity. The Bible tells us:24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. Matt 4:24-25 (NIV)
Can you even imagine the mayhem? This was the disciple’s intro into following Christ. I am confident that they felt as helpless to help the hurting as they actually were! This is a good place for all of us to begin! We are all helpless to help apart from the Spirit’s power within us. What follows is incredibly interesting to me. Jesus does the unexpected (go figure!) - Scripture tells us: 1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, Matt 5:1-2 (NIV)
He sat down and taught! He did not begin by doing the obvious which would have been the physical healing; He began by doing the spiritual healing! He was bestowing upon the disciples what they would need to accomplish the task ahead of them – which was monumental and far beyond their ability! Oh if we could only appropriate this into our own lives we would not be so frenzied and defeated! Jesus desires to work through us with His power, for His glory, for our good and the furtherance of His Kingdom. Our own strength will fail us; it is through His power that we will be sustained. This is why we must come to Him daily – to renew our strength and to regain our focus. Jesus could have just started by healing the masses, yet He chooses to teach His Word. It is no wonder Scripture tells us: 20 He sent forth his word and healed them; Psalms 107:20 (NIV)
“Two conflicting forces cannot co-exist in one human heart. When doubt reigns, faith cannot abide. Where hatred rules, love is crowded out. Where selfishness rules, there love cannot dwell. When worry is present, trust cannot crowd its way in.” Billy Graham 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Prov 3:6 (NIV)