Better

April 14

Deuteronomy 26-27

Psalm 45:6-12

Proverbs 11:7-8

Luke 10:25-42

Better

“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 from her.”

Luke 10:41-42 NIV

Mary has chosen what is better. This verse plays over and over in my head. The Lord is teaching me to choose what is better. And believe me, it is not an easy task. Thankfully, He is patient and longsuffering because I am a slow learner. I am Martha. Give me a task and I can get it done. I will plan it out, make my list and methodically cross things off that list until the task is complete. Being organized and getting things done is not a bad thing. After all, things need to get done. We can’t just sit around all the time praying and reading our Bible. We have responsibilities we cannot neglect and Jesus Himself tells us that we are to serve others and serve Him. The problem comes when we neglect our relationship with Him to serve Him and meet our responsibilities. He equips us for service and gives us the wisdom and strength to fulfill our responsibilities. Spending time at His feet prepares us to face whatever lies ahead. For many years my time alone with Him was sporadic and hurried. I served Him vigorously and willingly, but I was too busy to just sit at His feet and enjoy His presence. When I read my Bible, it was for a purpose. A Bible study I needed to complete and check off my list, a question I needed to answer so that I could give a friend sound, biblical advice, or a daily Bible reading/devotional so a could say I had my quiet time that day. I cannot say that I longed for or just enjoyed spending time in His presence. I had tasks I needed to do. I almost felt guilty for just sitting quietly with Him. He has changed me. I’m not exactly sure how He did it or even when, but He has given me a yearning for time alone with Him. I love sitting at His feet and just enjoying His presence. Instead of longing to be doing tasks when I am alone with Him, I now find myself longing for time alone with Him when I am completing a task. An amazing thing has happened in this process. I find that I am doing fewer things than I used to do, but the things I am doing are accomplishing more. I am learning to do the things that He has chosen for me to do instead of doing everything that I see that needs to be done. There are always going to be things that need to be done. Finding something to do will never be a problem. The difficulty is choosing what is better. When I spend time at His feet, He helps me choose those things that He wants me to do and gives me the strength and ability to do them. My challenge to you is to ask God to give you a yearning for Him. Ask Him today to fill you with desire to know Him more.