How I Got Closer to GodSample

ONLY ONE THING IS NEEDED

I got so much closer to God when I chose to sit at His feet, much like a woman named Mary, in the Bible.

One day, Jesus paid a visit to the house Mary shared with her brother, Lazarus and her sister, Martha. Mary and Martha had a lot of work to do to serve lunch to Jesus and His entourage.

Martha was in the kitchen, plucking the chickens, preparing the salad, ordering the servants around, banging the pots and pans—and then suddenly, she looked around and noticed that Mary was not helping.

This ticked Martha off so much that she ran into her living room and yelled at Jesus: “Lord, make my sister help me!” But instead of complying, Jesus focused on Martha and said, “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” (Luke 10:41-42 NKJV).

You see, Martha thought that many things were needed to get lunch on the table that day. She thought someone needed to roast the chicken, mash the potatoes, pour the drinks, etc. But Jesus said that only one thing was needed, and Mary was doing it—sitting at Jesus’ feet, spending time with Him, listening to Him.

Jesus wanted Martha to know that spending time with Him is more beneficial than stressing over all the things that need doing. Mary garnered things from that time with Him that would never be taken away from her. 

We don’t see what happened after that. Martha either stomped away, even madder than before, or she let His words sink into her heart, stopped the merry-go-round, and sank to His feet to listen. I hope that’s what she did!

Because if she did, all sorts of miracles might have happened. Just one chapter before, Jesus had miraculously turned a few loaves and fish into a meal for 5,000 people. Could Martha’s attempt to do everything in her own strength have stopped a miracle from happening at her house that day?

That story is a powerful illustration of time spent with Jesus. Putting Him first, sitting at His feet, reading His words, listening for His voice does us so much good! That’s what I did after my husband died, and it changed everything for me.