City Life Starter

Written by Aisha Darwesh

The Word

³⁸ Now it happened as they went that He [Jesus] entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

Luke 10:38-40 NKJV

Aisha’s Analysis

In this story of two sisters, Mary and Martha, we see a prime example of how being distracted by other things can make us lose sight of the most important thing. This story points out so much. Verse 38 says that Jesus entered a certain village and went to visit with a certain woman named Martha. Jesus doesn’t do anything just for the sake of doing it. He has a purpose for everything. Here, we see He is being very intentional in coming to this particular village and staying at this particular home. 

Additionally, we see that Martha welcomed Him into her house. That’s definitely a good start. What comes next is very crucial. This story shows us two directions we can go when we welcome the Lord into our lives. We can be like Mary, sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His Word. Or, we can get a classic case of the “Martha-syndrome” and try to serve Him according to our own standards. 

How many of us welcome the Lord into our lives, but then set our own agenda of how we must serve Him? There’s nothing wrong with wanting to serve the Lord, but we’ve got to let Him guide us. Trying to serve God in our own way is not only distracting, but it’s also exhausting. It leads to frustration, burn-out, and confusion. When we wonder why things aren’t working, we look for excuses and blame others for our frustration. 

After frantically trying to serve the Lord in her own strength, Martha had finally reached her limit. She approached the Lord to recruit her sister’s help. Surely, He would understand, right? Let’s see how He responds:

41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 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

The Lord understands perfectly well. Just see how Jesus affectionately addresses Martha by calling her name twice, “Martha, Martha.” God is far more interested in having a personal relationship with us than in what we can do for Him. Sometimes we think we have to do so many things to win the Lord’s approval, but that’s totally missing the point. God is pleased with us based on the finished work of Jesus Christ. Everything we do for the Lord after we surrender our lives to Him should be out of the overflow of His approval for us, not as a way to earn it. 

Does that mean He doesn’t want us to do anything for Him? Not quite. Jesus said one thing is needed and Mary has chosen it. When we get this one thing taken care of, everything else will fall into place. What did Mary do? She sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to His Word. She allowed Jesus to set the agenda, rested, and received from Him. 

When we find ourselves troubled and worried about many things, chances are we’ve gotten the Martha-syndrome. At that point, it’s best to just calm down and tune into the voice of God. Find out what He is trying to tell you. Sure, God wants to take care of the “many things,” but many things aren’t going to help if we don’t have the one thing that is needed. 

Even though Martha was doing many things for the Lord, she was not operating from a place of rest. When God calls us to do something, He will give us the peace, power, and provision to carry out the task in joy. It should not be burdensome or make us miserable. When we get with God’s program, we’ll carry out His divine directives with His back-up. 

“But what did Mary end up doing for the Lord?” you might ask. 

Interestingly enough, she had the extravagant honor of anointing the Lord for His burial just a few days before He would have to endure the crucifixion: 

Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 

John 12:3 NJKV

This shows us what an intimate relationship with Jesus can empower us to do. When we passionately pursue this one thing—seeking the face of Jesus and allowing Him to minister to us, we’ll be led to the right place at the right time to do wonderful works for the Kingdom of God. It’s not about what we can do; it’s all about what He has done for us. In seeking Him, we find ourselves. In accepting Him, we are made acceptable to the Lord.

Application

For today’s application, let’s listen to the words of Jesus in the Message version:

^28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Matthew 11:28-30 MSG

Prayer

Father God, thank You that I don’t have to face the heavy burdens of life alone. I’m yoked in with Jesus and He does all the heavy lifting. You sustain me through every season. Your grace is enough for me today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.