The Trailblazing WomenSýnishorn

In worship circles and conferences all around the globe, people often refer to the story of Mary and Martha with Jesus as a reminder to keep first things first. We need this message and it’s been given to worshipers as a charge to be like Mary and not like Martha. Over the years I have studied this story and I have given myself to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of him. But as I was reading this scripture one day, the Lord nudged me, as He does, to take a closer look. Admittedly, I was in a busy season and the guilt of all the things I hadn’t yet done, because of all I was doing, had started to come upon me. I had become accustomed to going through cycles of guilt and self-deprecation and had gotten used to feeling bad. This would push me to get deeper into my soul-care routine, get into my secret place and “sit at the feet of Jesus”. Only this time when I got there, the Holy Spirit led me to read this passage and was nudging me to look at it through a different lens. So, I read it again. Nothing. So I read it again…And I got nothing again. I said, “Lord, please just tell me what you want me to see, because I’m not getting it.” And He said, “Ask me the question you want to ask.” Let me pause here. I’m well aware that when God asks you a question, it’s not because he needs an answer, it’s because He wants to show you something. But when God tells you to ask Him a question, it’s because He wants you to find an answer. So I asked Him. I asked the question that ran across my mind, but I had quickly dismissed. “Lord, why didn’t you just tell Martha to sit at your feet with Mary from the beginning?

If you’re unfamiliar with the story, Martha and Mary were having Jesus over for dinner. Martha was busy and distracted, cooking and preparing dinner while Mary was sitting with Jesus and listening to him speak. Martha, frustrated, asks Jesus if he cares that she is working alone and tells him to tell Mary help her with her work. Jesus tells Martha that she is very upset and concerned about many things but there is only one thing necessary. He tells her that what Mary is doing is of most importance and will not be taken from her. But I wondered, if that is so, why didn’t Jesus correct Martha from the beginning? He must have seen her walking around frustrated. Why wait for her to get worked up before he taught her that lesson?

Maybe Jesus didn’t stop Martha because he recognized what Martha was doing as service unto him. It seems that what got Martha “in trouble” is her desire to judge and criticize her sister’s worship. Maybe we are supposed to offer Jesus what we have, our love and devotion from the sincerity of our hearts and he accepts that, whether it’s work or sitting at his feet. Maybe Jesus wants us keep our focus on him rather than focus on what the other is doing. Comparison is a thief. I wonder if he was less concerned about what Martha was doing but more concerned with the posture in which she did it. There are so many conclusions one can draw from this but one will never really know. We can only be sure of what the Lord tells us directly. Sometimes the Lord will tell you the things you need to hear when you willingly go to sit at his feet. Mary was one of those people. But sometimes the Lord will allow your busyness to lead to frustration that causes you to ask him the questions that will lead to Him telling you, not what you want to hear but what you need to hear, just the way He did with Martha.

After I asked the Lord my question, He said, “Martha had to get to the point that she was willing to listen.”

I know we all strive to be like Mary, but if you have any Martha tendencies, just know that, the Lord is patient and waiting until you are willing to listen. And when you get there, to the place of seeking Him, he will speak. He is a faithful Father and a wonderful friend. Are you willing to listen?

Prayer:

Father, today, my ears are open. I am ready and willing to listen and hear what you are speaking. Take this day and mold it in your capable hands. I rely on your strength and wisdom above my own. Lord, help me to be alert to what you’re doing and cautious to put you and your word first in my life today. I trust you to lead and guide me, even if I lose sight of what’s most important. Thank you for your continuous patience with me. Amen.

-Naomi Raine