Trusting that God Sees
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10: 41-42
I would not have ever said I struggled with anger until I had two kids. I love my girls more than anything in the world, but almost every single day, I find myself losing my cool a bit because something breaks, another thing spills, and as soon as I’ve picked up one mess and moved onto another, I turn around and see that my girls have undone everything I just did.
It makes me think of Jesus’s friend Martha. While Jesus was staying at her and her siblings’ house, Martha was trying to get everything done. She was the one to invite Jesus and his disciples over, and while her sister simply sat at Jesus’s feet, Martha “was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made” (v. 40).
I can imagine her disdain and frustration, seeing the mess pile up, trying to get everything cooked and put together, and spotting her sister simply hanging out with Jesus. She soon comes up to Jesus and demands, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (v. 40).
Yet Jesus, seeing Martha’s frustration, looks at her with compassion and reminds her that there is something more important than a clean house and well-executed dinner: her heart.
Jesus sees us in our hurry and busyness. He understands our longings for things to be a certain way, and yet what He really longs for is for us to rest securely in the identity He has given us. Our earthly status might change based on what we do or do not do, but God’s love for us never wavers.
When we find ourselves overwhelmed with the never-ending to-do list, I pray that our spirits will remind us of Jesus in His conversation with Martha, that we will remember His kindness and compassion, and that we will let go of the tight grip we hold on everything, trusting that we can rest secure in our identity as loved children of God.