Tuesday, August 16 – Luke 10:38-42

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who was also seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving by myself? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; but only one thing is necessary; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

How do you measure a good day? Is it a productive day when you completed your to-do list? Is it an affirming day when you received a lot of encouragement? Is it a heart-warming day you got to spend with people you love? We all have different priorities and different measuring sticks for what is valuable and important. Even as sisters, Mary and Martha had different priorities. Both women were motivated by something good: a desire to be with Jesus. Martha welcomed Jesus into her home and tried to serve Him to the best of her ability. Mary wanted to spend time with Him. So often when we fall into a season of busyness, we have a great reason for it. We work hard and wear ourselves thin to fill a lack of volunteers or for the love of our community, or even better, from a sincere desire to serve God.

What Martha missed is something we often miss as well. God does not value us based on our productivity for Him. We must always be careful when our time starts to become more about things we do for God rather than things we do with God. There is a healthy way to serve God, as we labor and serve through His strength, but it is easy to turn from trust in Him to work in our own strength. Jesus saw the anxiety, worry, and distraction that was filling Martha’s heart. He knows those distractions in your life as well. Seek to set those things aside today and enjoy your time with Him in all you do.

• What are some current distractions in your life?
• Why is it easy to get caught up with the things we feel we need to do for God instead of spending time with God? What is the danger in this mindset?
• Pray and repent for the moments you have followed distraction over time with God.