by MeredithNMills | Jan 15, 2016 | confidence, fear, freedom, grace, knowing God, ministry, rest, serving, Uncategorized, Walking by Faith
“Don’t You care that she’s not helping me?”
Martha’s words reflected the turmoil in her soul. With so much to do, how could Mary just sit there? Did she forget about their large dinner party tonight? The food wouldn’t cook itself!
Martha wanted so much for everything to be perfect – the meal, the accommodations, the service. It wasn’t everyday that Jesus came to visit! She had to make sure He was comfortable during His stay. He needed to feel honored, to know how much she loved Him. But…how could she do it all alone?
“Don’t You care that she’s left me to do all the work? Tell her to get up and get busy!”*
Do you ever feel like Martha? I know I do. All the time. Hubby jokes about my impossible “to do” lists. But it’s true. I seem incapable of creating a “to do” list that’s actually doable.
Oh, I totally get Martha. I know what it’s like to feel resentful when my priorities are not a priority to others.
So when I came across this passage in my Bible reading last week, I spent a while reflecting on it. Where did Martha go wrong? What is life’s one true necessity that Mary chose? And seriously, did Jesus not care about dinner? I mean, just practically speaking, how was dinner going to get on the table if both Mary and Martha sat at His feet?
What strikes me most in this account is the tenderness that exudes from Jesus’ gentle rebuke.
“Martha, Martha…My dearly loved Martha! I do see your hard work! I know you want to honor me and prove your devotion. But, Martha, that’s not what I want from you! You’re so distracted, so anxious, so uptight. You’re trying so hard all the time. Trying to take care of everyone. Trying to stay on top of things. Trying to do the right thing.
“I want you to quit trying and just come rest.
“Just be near Me. Listen to My heart. That’s what Mary has chosen. I won’t send her away to get busy.”*
The key difference, it seems, between the two sisters is this – Martha was driven to serve, while Mary drew near in love. Her adoration compelled her to just be close. To hang on His every word. To listen to His heart. To know Him deeply.
And Jesus said nothing in the world matters more.
His call to know Him and be near Him is woven through all the pages of Scripture.
“Cease striving and know that I am God…” (Ps 46:10a).
“Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…” (Phil 3:8).
“Oh, that we might now the Lord! Let us press on to know Him…” (Hos 6:3a).
“But as for me, the nearness of God is my good…” (Ps 73:28a).
“Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace…” (Heb 4:16a).
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” (Jas 4:8).
Boil it all down, and we find this at the heart of Christianity – being near God. It’s expressed in many different ways…Abiding in Him. Drawing near to Him. Learning from Him. Loving Him. Fixing our eyes on Him. But it all comes back to intimate nearness with God. Everything else in life flows out of that.
This nearness is certainly cultivated in quiet alone times with Him. But thankfully, for this mama with littles (who finds “quiet time” a bit elusive), I’m learning it can also be cultivated in the noise and activity of life. In my busy “Martha moments,” when dinner truly must get on the table, I can still have the heart of Mary as I rest in my relationship with Him. Serving my family (and anything else I do) can be an overflow of my walk with Him. As I receive and rest in His love, I can freely give it to those around me.
So whatever our season, however busy our days, let us press on to know Him!
How do you cultivate the nearness of God in your daily life?
*This is my paraphrase. 🙂 You can read the whole story in Luke 10:38-42.
by MeredithNMills | Jan 20, 2015 | knowing God, Uncategorized
“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10.
“I don’t know.”
Those three words…I’ve said them more in my years of being a parent than in all the prior years combined. The longer I live, the longer I’m a mom, the more I realize how very much I don’t understand.
I don’t know what to do when my child’s heart is hard and no discipline or training tactic seems to be working. I don’t know what to say when they can’t overcome a sin struggle. And I just don’t always know the answers to the deep questions they ask.
It’s not just child-training that points out my inability to make sense of things. What about the life issues that just seem so unfair? Why do some people suffer so intensely? Why do children die of starvation and neglect? Why does human trafficking exist? Why do the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper?
On a more personal scale, why does God seem so distant at times? Why can’t I get past the depression that just weighs on my soul some mornings? Why does God allow “sorrows like sea billows (to) roll”? Why is He sometimes silent when I pray and pray for Him to act? Why do my loved ones have to endure such heartache? What about all the other unanswered questions – those nagging doubts that a Christian is afraid to vocalize? Those things we feel that seem to contradict the faith we claim?
We’re quick to point our fingers at sin. And yes, sin is absolutely at the root of it all. Sin started all our suffering and misery (Rom 5:12). There would be no death, no murder, no abuse, no starvation without sin.
But why didn’t God stop Adam and Eve before they sinned? Or just leave the source of temptation out of the Garden? Why didn’t He prevent it? Why doesn’t He prevent suffering in my life, in my kids’ lives? If He’s really good, then why…?
Sometimes, I just don’t know.
I don’t always have the answers to my heart’s questions, my kids’ questions, my friends’ questions. But it’s okay, because my God does.
He knows. And He cares deeply. He offers wisdom to those who ask Him for it (Jas 1:5). Priceless, beautiful wisdom that is found in getting to know Jesus (Eph 1:17, Col 2:2-3). And as we know Him more, we learn to trust His heart. We experience that He loves His own extravagantly and works all things out for our good (Rom 8:28). He submitted Himself to suffering, too, out of love for us (John 15:13). He understands and is with us through it all (Heb 13:5). But there are some things we just may never understand. And that is when we must choose to just be still (Ps 46:10, above).
Be still. Cease striving. Let go. Relax.
If I know nothing else, I can know Jesus (1 Cor 2:2). He is God. He will be exalted. His plan will come to pass. Evil will be avenged someday. Suffering will not last forever. One day He will wipe every tear from His beloved children’s faces (Isa 25:8).
When my heart rages, and accuses, and blames and is restless…I can, I must, choose to rest. “He is God and I am not,” as Steven Curtis Chapman so aptly put it in his song God is God. He welcomes me to ask Him for wisdom and to pour out my heart to Him (Ps 62:8).
But sometimes the only answer is that He is God. And that is when following Him means I must “bow the knee” and trust Him. Trust that He is who He says He is – just and yet merciful, good when life isn’t, loving when my heart hurts, holy and blameless when people aren’t, patient when I’m impatient, a Redeemer of what’s broken, the Friend who sticks closer than a brother…
So seek Jesus. Allow God to fill you with a spirit of wisdom and revelation, to “enlighten” your heart (Eph 1:17) as your intimacy with our beloved Savior grows. Because if you know Jesus, you can be still even when you don’t know why.
What question do you need to trust Him with today?
