To Be A Mary Before A Martha

We see in Genesis 2 that the Bible prescribes rest, not idleness. There is a difference between the two. God created the earth in six days and on the seventh day, He rested. He was not idle; He rested. Not because He was tired, but because He set the standard for us to follow. The standard for mankind is that we need rest. We cannot just go, go, go, go, because that busyness distracts us from our main job – our Lord first, and if we’re married, our husband, our children, and then ministry. Rest has a way of setting our minds and hearts back on Jesus, and when we’re too busy, we can fill all of that rest time – that quiet time – with noise. But when we are still before the Lord, as Psalm 46:10 tells us, “Be still and know that I am God,” – we are refocused, and our perspective gets back on the Lord when we rest – when we take time. When we are still, we can see and hear things that we cannot when we are busy; namely, the still small voice of the Lord. Do you sit before you serve? Are you a Mary before you’re a Martha? What Jesus gently pointed out to Martha was that her priorities were out of order. Have your priorities ever been out of order? Mine have. Had Martha sat first, she would have been able to serve in her spirit and not according to her flesh. And we all have been in this predicament at one time or another. Some of us more than we’d like to admit. But I have found that there is a balance between work and rest, serving and sitting. And even Jesus took time away to rest from His busy schedule. And if Jesus took time away, we should definitely take time away to rest as well. The Proverbs 31 woman is busy in her home but not so busy that she’s distracted by her first priority, which is to sit at the feet of Jesus.

— Michelle Randall, Titus 2 Talk Pt. 3, “The Virtuous Woman” Pt. 2

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