“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Memory verse: “And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” Luke 19:34
Naturally, we go into God’s presence for various reasons but the most prioritized things being that long list of requests and for the purpose of appreciation and thanksgiving for all He has already done but looking at time spent in His presence in order of percentages, our list of requests carries a higher percentage when compared to the time we spend appreciating and thanking Him.
Because of this way of thinking, we assume that God will be the-same with us. We think He automatically needs us to do a whole lot of things to qualify for His love, favour and mercy but the story of Mary and Martha teaches us otherwise. We see that that Mary gave Jesus the attention that was more important but Martha mistook the needs and assumed her services would be more appreciated seeing that it took a lot of effort and time but when she approached Jesus, He shared with her what was more important to Him.
As Children of God It remains important to understand the things that are important to God. We cannot fast when He needs us to be praying or be sleeping when we should be up for vigil.
We are all needed by God but knowing what we are needed for helps us in fulfilling our God given purpose. The battle for being recognised and acquiring world and media fame has taken over as priority over learning at the feet of Jesus which is why even during church services we may see people actively involved in every church activity and totally fail to listen to the sermon or benefit from prayer sessions because they are focused on activities and not with a mindset to connect or receive from God.
While it’s not bad to involve in activities, it’s important to understand that we are called to have a relationship the God and take instructions from Him; but how can we take instructions when we get carried away with every other thing in the world?
Are you a Mary or Martha? Yes, Martha wasn’t doing anything wrong. She was cultured and caring and was only doing all to make Jesus comfortable and relax as a guest. But there’s a difference between the good and the important; the latter which Mary chose.
David was a Warrior, Deborah a judge, Moses a Leader, Paul a church planter and Jesus a savior. Can you just begin to imagine the disaster if Apostle Paul did not understand His position and took a chance on the battle field? My guess is that we will not have 13Books to read from the New Testament as he may have died with his purpose unfulfilled. He has no business on the battle field and he knew what God needed Him for. He says in I Corinthians 1:17
“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.”
God needs us as His representatives on earth and He has various assignments for us. We should seek His face to know what those assignments are and ask for grace to hold tight to that which is important to God.
PRAYERS
- Father I thank you for another wonderful week of grace just commencing
- I am grateful for your protection, provision and all that you do for me.
- Guide me Lord, help me to remain in your presence and hold on to that which is important to you
- Bring me back into the heart of worship, let all I do be all about you.
- Forgive me Lord of all my iniquities, bless me abundantly and make me a blessing unto others, in Jesus mighty name I pray, Amen.
