Peace: A 4-Day Devotional by Anna GoldenSample

Day 4: And now we rest!

Scripture: “The Master said, ‘Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.’” (Luke 10:41-42‬, MSG)

Song of the day: “Listen, Breathe” 

Here we are on the final day of the PEACE devotional. What do we do now? Nothing! Well, not necessarily nothing—let me explain. I don’t know if you are this way, but doing nothing is easily the hardest thing for me to do. I am an overachiever at my core. I enjoy being busy and having a full schedule. I am very much a “doer,” if you will. For a long time, this really inhibited me from being able to sit still in the presence of God. 

Today’s Scripture is one of my favorite depictions of the “doer” personality. In Luke 10, we get to witness the exchange between Jesus and some of his closest friends, Mary and Martha. When Jesus came to their home, Martha was buzzing around still doing the household chores, and Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, listening to every word He had to say. Luke goes on to say Martha was upset and interrupted Jesus, telling Him to tell Mary to get up and help her. 

The story ends there, but I imagine Martha’s response would have looked something like, “I can’t just be still! There’s work to be done!” At least that’s what I would have said.

There will ALWAYS be work to be done in our everyday lives. So much of my life I thought stress was productive. If I was really stressed out, that meant I had a lot going on, which meant I was getting stuff done. I cannot tell you how wrong I was! 

We serve a God of peace. So I have chosen to do the one thing most important—choosing to sit at His feet.

My encouragement for you today: You don’t have to live a life of stress! Being still is not the same as being lazy. Prioritizing Jesus every day is the biggest investment you can make for your life. He has us in the palm of His hand! We don’t have to strive. We can lean into who He is, listen, and breathe.