The Mental Mindset of Mary, Martha & Meናሙና

DISBELIEF v PROMISES

The behavior of Martha and Mary reveals the posture of disbelief versus the posture of trusting in the promises of Jesus in their souls.

Martha: Disbelief is the inability or refusal to accept that something is true or real. One of the primary targets of the enemy’s attack is the goodness, character, and truth of God. Martha was wrestling with her belief in the goodness of Jesus. She doubted His love for her.

Let’s take a quick deeper dive into the battlefield the enemy operates in because understanding enemy tactics will empower us to fight accurately and with authority. His core tactic is to cause disbelief by flooding our minds with lies in the hope that we will agree with the lie, thus turning the lie into a belief.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NLT): We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts (neoma) and teach them to obey Christ.

Here, the Greek word for thoughts is Neoma; this is a thought with an evil purpose or intention. Check out the other verses listed below, where the word Neoma is used; it soon becomes clear where the battleground is.

2 Corinthians 2:11 (NLT): So that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes (neoma).

2 Corinthians 4:4a (NLT): Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds (Neoma) of those who don’t believe.

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds (Neoma) may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

I also love the description of “flaming arrows” used in Ephesians 6:16, where we are encouraged to hold up the shield of faith to stop them. My mind immediately goes to movies like Braveheart, where the enemy would fire flaming arrows onto the thatch of the people’s huts to burn them from the top down. This is what Satan does to our minds.

Ephesians 6:16: In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Our minds are that thatch. We need to take up the shield of faith in Jesus to extinguish the lies of the enemy who wants to destroy us. We need to consider the source of our thoughts and bring them to truth – Jesus. Remember, a thought only has power over us when we agree with it. Once we agree with the thought, it becomes a belief or disbelief, producing corresponding fruit.

Martha was stewing in her doubtful thoughts in the kitchen. When you stew and ruminate long enough, you agree with those thoughts at some point. Martha agreed that Jesus didn’t care, her sister Mary didn’t care, and she was alone. The agreement (an active choice) led to her coming out of that kitchen with verbal guns blazing. I like to imagine a large wooden spoon in hand for added effect. I imagine she came out of that kitchen like a tornado; that is the power of the internal narrative. We can be in the midst of an external storm or crisis, but how we process what we are going through can create an internal storm that fuels our attack.

We must own our internal narratives, capture those rebellious thoughts, and bring them to truth. Philippians 4:8 (NLT) instructs us to "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

In the various scriptures I’ve quoted above, take note of the words “capture”, “bring”, and “fix”. They are all action-based. This war is active and needs a proactive approach. We must disown our narratives of disbelief if we are to be released from them.

Mary: The gift of being in His presence grants us access to hearing His promises first-hand. There are 7,487 promises in the Bible from God to man. There is something about a promise that keeps the receiver close to the giver because it entails an element of faith and anticipation.

Hebrews 11:1 (KJV): Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

How I choose to live my life reveals the evidence of what I am hoping for and what I have faith in. I believe Mary took a massive step of faith as she sat at the feet of Jesus. She unlocked purpose as she stepped into the role of a disciple. She showed evidence of the things she hoped for based on the goodness of Jesus. Mary made a promising choice. Remember, we can focus on the problem or the promises; it’s our choice. The promises of Jesus are hope handles to cling to as we face the storms of life, but holding onto them is our choice.

DEEP WATER QUESTIONS:

• What lie agreements have you made that have resulted in disbelief around the goodness of Jesus?
• How have these lie agreements of disbelief impacted your relationships with Jesus?
• What is the truth you believe Jesus wants you to hold onto today?

PRAY:

Lord, I bring the lie agreement of …… and I pray in the name of Jesus that you will break this lie and its hold over my heart and mind. I choose today to trust in your promises and goodness.