Martha made the same accusation of Jesus when He and His disciples came to visit. Martha, being the older sister and the hostess, felt it was her responsibility to provide all the culturally expected gestures of a good hostess. She wanted to do her best for Jesus by not giving him and his disciples sub average hospitality. But when she could no longer make herself or those around her rise to her own expectations, she blamed Jesus for not caring. “But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself’” (Luke 10:40a). And then Martha proceeded to tell Jesus what He should do! “Tell her to help me!” (Luke 10:40b). Martha had yet to understand His unfailing love.
When we are overwhelmed or frustrated with many things at once, we tend to display the same attitude toward our Lord. “Lord, don’t you care? Don’t you care that my mother is sick? Lord, don’t you care that I’ve lost work and have no paycheck right now? Lord, don’t you care that there is so much violence and injustice happening in the world?” To the doubting soul, that question remains; DOES He care?
Mary knew how to find the answer to this question. Through being still before Him and listening to His words, she began to recognize His heart. This simple exercise has helped me when I feel overwhelmed. As I sit before Jesus, I allow Him to show me all the things that I am overly worried about. I repent of an attitude that claims He doesn’t care. And then in my journal after every item of concern, I write in ALL CAPS the name JESUS! In doing so, I place the matter in His hands. I acknowledge the authority of His name. I surrender to His sovereign will and power at work in every situation, large or small. I acknowledge my own inability to do anything that will make lasting change. And I speak to my own soul, reminding myself to once more turn to Him with my whole being in total adoration. In doing so, I lean into His grace, trusting the situation and my response to Him.
May you find His sweet embrace at the end of your pen, at the end of your own efforts. As you reflect at the end of the day, may you say, “It is well with my soul.”
Today’s Bible Reading: Mark 4:36-41; Luke 10:38-42
A Moment to reflect:
Engage in the exercise described in the paragraph above.
Continue to speak the Scriptures you looked up in part one, of this series, over your own soul.
Consider sharing these things with a trusted friend to be prayed for and/or for some accountability to replace these lies daily with truth!
By Julie Bransetter; an excerpt from For Such A Time As This: Walking Through Crisis *A moment to reflect is added for this post.
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