Mary & Martha

What better way to learn more about becoming a woman of God, than to study the women of God in the Bible?!? This is exactly what we've been doing in our "Women of Faith" small group, which I have been attending the past couple of weeks. We have been studying various women throughout the Bible in order to develop ourselves into the women that God has called us to be. Recently, Mrs. Vanessa Hensley led an incredible study on the story of when Jesus came to visit Mary and Martha. I wanted to share just a few notes from this passage found in Luke 10:38-42.

Quick Summary: In this story in Luke, Jesus comes to visit Martha at her home and her sister Mary, instead of helping Marth with the preparations, sits at the Lord's feet listening to His words. Martha is upset and asks the Lord to tell Mary to help her. The Lord clearly tells Martha no, because Mary has chosen to do what is good - to sit at His feet.

Martha was so distracted and busy with the preparations, that she missed what was really important. We often get so busy with our "service" to the Lord, that we miss spending time with Him. It was more important for Martha to spend time with Jesus, than worry about getting everything done. Martha's service had become self-serving. The point is not what we can do for God, but who God is to us!

Also, Martha had expected Mary to help her with her work. Sometimes, we call people in to do the work for us, and often times, the work should have already been done. Preparations should be done before a guest arrives. To prepare is to get ready beforehand...in advance...in expectation. The work Martha was focused on completing, should have been done before the Lord ever arrived. When we do what is asked for us in preparation, then when God shows up, we don't have to waste time finishing and rushing through our work, but we can just spend time in His presence. Her focus was on the wrong thing. What Martha thought to be the most important task was actually the wrong focus of her attention.

God should always come first and we must prioritize the people in our life who will fill us spiritually as well. When the opportunity arises to spend time in God or with people who will pour into you, we cannot be "too busy" because our preparation work is not complete. We cannot be too busy for God! He does not want our excuses, He wants our lives. God is the point and the purpose, so nothing should ever conflict or come before our time with Him.

When we put God first and prioritize our time with Him, everything else will fall into place. I hope you are encouraged today to make time for the things in your life after your time with God.

I will leave you with one of my absolute favorite verses:

Matthew 6:33-34

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteosness, and all these things will be added unto you. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."