Mary and Martha
This is a little part of something by Charles Swindoll. I’ve been a Martha lately due to lots of stress at work, and I MISS JESUS! So my friends, would you pray that I’d be more like a loyal lapdog and less like a chicken with its head cut off?
Understanding the rarity of the moment of just being in His presence, Mary sat like a loyal lapdog basking in her Master's shadow. She didn't view the day as a project to tackle but as an intimate moment to enjoy.
Because Martha’s anxiety had gotten the best of her, she missed a potentially life-altering encounter with the Savior. The stress she brought onto herself strangled her ability to relish Christ's words and experience the quiet benefit of His presence.
He gently addressed her, "Martha, Martha." He didn't deliver a thundering lecture, wagging His finger in Martha's face. He didn't throw open the family Bible and shame her into reading ten verses aloud. I'm convinced He felt compassion for Martha. He could have even wrapped His strong arms around her and whispered, "You are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
Jesus pinpointed Martha's trouble. She had allowed the anxiety of the moment to cloud her attitude and steal her joy.
Mary had chosen a better way—the way of life and peace found at the feet of Jesus. For the rest of her life she would be able to remember those precious hours with her beloved Savior.
In The Message, Eugene Peterson captures Jesus' words in today's terms. Consider Peterson's rendering of Matthew 6:34. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
I've been worried about Friday, and today is only Tuesday! Friday I have to do a live teleconference that will go out to audiences in every Co-op, and the whole idea has been freaking me out! But I'm SURE it'll turn out fine, just like everything else I've worried about the last 11 years in this job has turned out fine! And then I'll run into that psalm that says, "There they were, overwhelmed with dread when there was nothing to dread," and I'll realize it was nothing to dread and I wasted my time dreading it!
The day I started my job, I walked into the main office and saw this poem hanging on the wall:
Yesterday He helped me,
Today He did the same.
How long will this continue?
Forever, praise His name!
You'd think 11 years of the faithfulness of God would be enough proof that I'll survive Friday, wouldn't you?
Pray for me, my friends! I want to rest in Jesus and enjoy his presence like Mary did!
Understanding the rarity of the moment of just being in His presence, Mary sat like a loyal lapdog basking in her Master's shadow. She didn't view the day as a project to tackle but as an intimate moment to enjoy.
Because Martha’s anxiety had gotten the best of her, she missed a potentially life-altering encounter with the Savior. The stress she brought onto herself strangled her ability to relish Christ's words and experience the quiet benefit of His presence.
He gently addressed her, "Martha, Martha." He didn't deliver a thundering lecture, wagging His finger in Martha's face. He didn't throw open the family Bible and shame her into reading ten verses aloud. I'm convinced He felt compassion for Martha. He could have even wrapped His strong arms around her and whispered, "You are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
Jesus pinpointed Martha's trouble. She had allowed the anxiety of the moment to cloud her attitude and steal her joy.
Mary had chosen a better way—the way of life and peace found at the feet of Jesus. For the rest of her life she would be able to remember those precious hours with her beloved Savior.
In The Message, Eugene Peterson captures Jesus' words in today's terms. Consider Peterson's rendering of Matthew 6:34. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
I've been worried about Friday, and today is only Tuesday! Friday I have to do a live teleconference that will go out to audiences in every Co-op, and the whole idea has been freaking me out! But I'm SURE it'll turn out fine, just like everything else I've worried about the last 11 years in this job has turned out fine! And then I'll run into that psalm that says, "There they were, overwhelmed with dread when there was nothing to dread," and I'll realize it was nothing to dread and I wasted my time dreading it!
The day I started my job, I walked into the main office and saw this poem hanging on the wall:
Yesterday He helped me,
Today He did the same.
How long will this continue?
Forever, praise His name!
You'd think 11 years of the faithfulness of God would be enough proof that I'll survive Friday, wouldn't you?
Pray for me, my friends! I want to rest in Jesus and enjoy his presence like Mary did!
posted by KathyH @ 9:58 PM
2 Comments:
At 1:12 AM ,
Annette said...
Awww - that was good - I really am praying for you - you'll be great!!! And it's almost over!!! Yea!!! Yes, Lord, please help me be a Mary -
At 4:26 PM ,
Spring said...
I'll pray for you, too. I have the same problem with that type of situation. I freak out and think every all the ways I could potentially screw up. It's a mind trick, you'll do great!
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