CHAPTER 1 - A TALE OF 2 SISTERS
We want to worship like Mary but the Martha inside keeps bossing us around.
Martha opens her home to a band of 13 hungry men possibly more – what a hostess! She is the original Proverbs 31 woman. Queen of the kitc hen and the rest of the house as well. Notice it is Martha we start with – her home,she opened it to Jesus. Imagine her anger at the sight of Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet. She interrupts everything, certain Jesus will take her side. Instead of applauding Martha Jesus rebukes her telling her Mary has chosen “what is better”.
It isn’t more Jesus requires of us – in fact it may be less!
Mary and Martha – only mentioned 3 times in scripture:
Luke 10 verses 38 to 42
John 11 verses 1 to 44
John 12 verses 1 to 11
Mary was sunlight to Martha’s thunder.
Mary was bent to meander through life pausing to smell roses.
Martha was more likely to pick roses and arrange them in a vase.
Not to say one is right and other is wrong – all of us are different and that is just as God made us to be. Each gifting and personality has its own strengths and weaknesses, its glories and temptations.
Jesus didn’t say “why can’t you be more like your sister Mary?”
But when the 2 were faced with the same choice – to work or to worship, Jesus said “Mary has chosen the better part”. The better part was available to both – and it is to us regardless of our gifting or personality – it’s a choice we each can make.
There is a magnetism about Jesus’ words as though they contain breath and life – breath and life Mary hadn’t known she needed until this day.
Martha’s openness with Christ seems to indicate a prior acquaintance – we don’t know how often Jesus visited this home. “We live in constant tension between the urgent and the important” Charles Hummel. “The problem is that the important task rarely must be done today or even this week. Extra hours of prayer and bible study can wait. But the urgent tasks call for instant action – endless demands pressure every hour and day.” So where do we find the time to follow Mary to the feet of Jesus? Where do we find the energy to serve him?
Jesus is our example – never in a hurry, knew who he was and where he was going. He wasn’t held hostage to the world’s demands or even its desperate needs. “I only do what my Father tells me to do” Jesus told his disciples.
Jesus invites us to know him, to see him so clearly that when we look upon him we see the face of God as well.
In obedience to his invitation we find the key to our longings, the secret to living beyond the daily pressures that would otherwise tear us apart. For as we learn what it means to chase the better part of intimacy with Christ, we begin to be changed. Martha did lay aside her personality to worship Jesus. She simply obeys. She receives Jesus’ rebuke and learns that while there is a time for work there is also a time for worship. The Martha we see later in the gospels is no longer frantic and resentful but full of faith and trust – the kind of faith and trust that come only from spending time at Jesus’ feet.
Mary does some changing too – when disaster strikes Mary’s tendency is to be swamped with sorrow and paralysed with questions. But in the end when she realises Jesus’ time is short Mary puts into action what she has learned in worship. She steps forward and seizes the opportunity to serve both beautifully and sacrificially.
The bold one becomes meek. The mild one courageous.
It is impossible to be in Jesus’ presence and not be changed.
Busyness by itself breeds distraction. Luke 10 verse 38 shows us a woman with the gift of hospitality. Martha opened her home to Jesus but that doesn’t mean she opened her heart. In her eagerness to serve Jesus she almost missed the opportunity to know Jesus. “Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” In her mind nothing less than the very best could do. She had to go all out for Jesus. The kingdom of God is a paradox.
While the world applauds achievement God desires companionship The world
clamours “do more! Be all that you can be!” But our Father whispers “Be still
and know that I am God.” He isn’t looking as much for workers as he is looking
for sons and daughters – a people to pour his life into.
Putting work before worship is like putting the cart before the horse, But the horse must come first or we end up pulling the cart ourselves. Frustrated and weary we can nearly brake under the pressure of service for there is always something that needs to be done. When we first spend time in his presence – when we take time to hear his voice – God provides the horsepower we need to pull the heaviest load. He saddles up Grace and invites us to take a ride. Salvation isn’t about what I do; its about what Jesus did. The cross did more than pay for my sins, it sets me free from the bondage of the “should” and “if onlys” and “what might have beens”. You are worried and upset about many things but only one thing is needed.” The one thing is not found in doing more. It is found by sitting at his feet. Mary’s gift was
availability.
The only requirement for a deeper relationship with God is showing up with a heart open and ready to receive.
Jesus invites us to come and rest, to spend time with him in this incredible Living Room Intimacy. Intimacy that allows us to be honest in our complaints, bold in our approach and lavish in our love. Intimacy that allows us to hear our Father’s voice and discern our Father’s will. Intimacy that so fills us with his love and his nature that it spills out to our dry, thirsty world in kitchen service. In the Living Room is where it all begins, down at his feet.
CHAPTER 2 - LORD, DON'T YOU CARE?
Life is hard and rarely fair. Even when we work diligently and do what is expected the daily duties of life often seem to provide few rewards.
Martha may have been the first person to ask Jesus the question "Lord don't you care?" She definitely wasn't the last. We have all felt the loneliness, the frustration, the left outness and resentment she experienced in the kitchen that Bethany afternoon - doing all the work for others when no-one seems to notice and no-one seems to care.
In Luke 10 verse 40 we get a clear picture of Martha's struggle. Surprise visitors land on her doorstep. We don't know how many. It could have been as many as 70! Martha responds with open arms and a wide smile. But somewhere between the kitchen and the living room, a seed of resentment starts growing. Before long it sprouts into a question that echoes in womens hearts today - "Lord don't you care?"
Problem: Martha is doing all the work while Mary basks in glory. A part of me wishes Jesus had said "So sorry Martha - terribly insensitive of us. Come on Mary! Come on guys let's all pitch in and give Martha a hand." That's all Martha wanted. That's what I want when I'm feeling overwhelmed - soft soothing words and plenty of helpful action. I want everyone to carry his own weight. But most of all I want life to be fair!
Servant burnout - 5 unrealistic expectations that can contribute to it:
1. there should not be any limits to what I can do
2. I have the capacity to help everyone
3. I am the only person available to help
4. I must never make a mistake
5. I have the ability to change another person
"What you are doing is not good. You will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you, you cannot handle it alone." Exodus 18 verses 17 and 18
Since childhood we've all had an invisible set that weighs what happens to us against what others experience - how our parents treated us by the way they treated our siblings. But many of us have carried the scales into adulthood unaware and we waste surprising amounts of time trying to get those scales to balance. If we are not careful our view of the world can become distorted. Every little word can take on a hidden meaning. Every action can turn into a personal attack. When we look for injustice we usually find it. And when we expect life to always be fair we inevitably set ourselves up for a big disappointment.
Satan plans his attacks around the Three Deadly D's of Destruction:
- distraction
- discouragement
- doubt
Underlying strategy is fairly simple - get peoples eyes off God and on their circumstances. Make them believe that their "happiness" lies in the "happenings" that surround them. Or send them good news about somebody else. When they're thoroughly discouraged tell them God doesn't care. Then sit back and let doubt do its work.
A distracted heart
Martha was "distracted". That's where Satan usually begins. He knows if we're overly worried and bogged down by duties, chances are good our hearts will not hear the Saviour's call to come. While distraction may not win the battle for our soul getting our eyes off of what is important will certainly make us more vulnerable to attack.
"Martha was cumbered about with much serving" = distracted. The word cumber Oxford English dictionary defines:
1. to overwhelm, rout, destroy
2. to harass, distress, bother
3. to trouble, confound, perplex
Original Greek word perispao = to be over occupied about a thing, to draw away.
Strong's concordance to the word cumber = defining it as to drag around.
Martha's pursuits were far from trivial. The preparations Martha pursued were described by Luke as diakonia - New Testament word for ministry.
"But even pure ministry for Jesus can become a weight we drag around". It's called the treadmill anointing and it isn't from God." Dutch Sheets, pastor and author
Alice in Wonderland - rabbit Martha collapsed and Queen of Hearts took over pointing fingers and screaming "off with their heads! Off with everyone's head.
A discouraged heart
When we are distracted discouragement is just around the corner. Weariness creeps in as life overpowers us. It causes us to say and do things we would never consider doing or saying otherwise. Discouragement breaks down our perspective and our defenses. Though we may have completed great things for God, weary discouragement tells us we're useless, hopeless and abandoned.
1 Kings 18 Elijah - Jezebel said she would kill him. He ran for his life
- distraction made him fear
- discouragement made him hide
He sat down under a broom tree - I have had enough, take my life, just let me die.
Discouragement can drain us of all hope, of all vision of all our tomorrows and dreams.
What happened - God sent an angel to bring food to his downhearted prophet "Get up and eat for the journey is too much for you." Then the angel stood guard as Elijah fell back asleep.
Don't hide under a broom tree - go to the Lord and let him sweep away your discouragement.
A doubtful heart
Satan has found that trying to make humanity question God's existence is futile. God's existence is written upon man's heart. Agnosticism and atheism have fallen before the bedrock belief: God is. Belief in God has definitely not died.
5 strategies for fighting discouragement:
1. allow for rest stops
2. get a new point of view - God's perspective on situation
3. have patience
4. mingle - visit friends!
5. set the timer - allow time for a good cry
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31 verse 8.
If Satan can't make us doubt God's existence he will do his best to doubt God's love.
After he has distracted us ... after he has discouraged us ... Satan's final tactic is disillusionment and doubt.
Doubting God's love doesn't require tragedy. It can creep into the everyday just as insidiously, just as dangerously. It happens when our will is crossed, when our needs are ignored or when we like Martha are stuck doing the dirty work while everyone else is having fun.
Doubt left unchecked can fester into unbelief. And unbelief is not only sin, it's deep trouble. When we no longer believe in God's goodness, when we no longer trust in his care, we end up running away from the very Love we need to live.
Unbelief brought down Judas - he refused to trust God's timing.
Unbelief kept the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years because they questioned God's ability to lead them. It was unbelief back at the beginning of time that opened a doorway of darkness in a world designed for pure light.
The Garden of Eden must have been wonderful. Just think: no house to clean, no meals to cook, no clothes to iron! Eve had it made. A gorgeous hunk of a husband. Paradise for a living room. God for a playmate. But somehow, in the midst of all these blessings, the marvelous grew mundane, the remarkable ho-hum. And a nagging sense of discontentment sent Eve wandering toward the only thing God had withheld: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
What is it about us women that creates such a desperate need in us to always "know", to always "understand"? We want an itinerary for our life, and when God doesn't immediately produce one, we set out to write our own.
"I need to know" we tell ourselves. "No" God answers softly "you need to trust."
But like the original first lady, we push aside his tender voice and head straight for the tree. Not the sacrificial tree of the cross, but the proud, towering beauty called Knowledge. Because, after all, knowledge is power. And power is what we secretly crave.
Eve's eventual sin began with a tiny thought - a small, itching fear she was somehow missing something and that God didn't have her best interest at heart. What could be wrong with something so lovely, so desirable as the forbidden fruit? Perhaps a hidden resentment had worked down into her spirit. Adam got to name the animals while she got to pick papayas. Whatever the identity of the tiny irritation, it sent her looking for more.
And Satan was ready and waiting, willing to give her more than she'd ever bargained for. He filled her mind with questions "Did God really say ...?" Satan encouraged Eve to doubt God's word and God's goodness until the continual question marks finally obliterated her trust in God's love.
Humanity has questioned God's love ever since.
Asking Questions
Like Martha we have our questions. Like Martha we have our doubts. I'm so glad God is not threatened by our doubts and questions, our fears or even our frustrations. He wants us to trust his love enough to tell him what we are thinking and feeling. David did that. He is a marvellous example of a heart honest and open before God. The shepherd-boy-turned-king poured out his complaint before the Lord all through the psalms. In Psalm 62 verse 8 he invites us to do the same: "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge."
Our friend Martha was on the right track that day in Bethany. Instead of allowing her doubtful questions to fester, she took her worries and her fears and voiced them to Jesus. While her bristling, abrasive approach is hardly the best model, there are still several important lessons we can learn from her gutsy encounter with Christ.
First we can bring our needs to Jesus anytime and anywhere - "Ask and it will be given to you" Jesus said in Matthew 7 verse 7. In the Greek, the form of the word for ask implies "keep on asking". We can't wear our Saviour our. He's never too busy to hear our hearts' cries. Martha took full advantage of his availability, even in the midst of her busyness and party preparations.
Second, Jesus really cares about what concerns us - "Cast all your anxiety on him" 1 Peter 5 verse 7 tells us, "because he cares for you." Jesus didn't laugh off Martha's concerns. He didn't become angry. Instead, he spoke to her with infinite gentleness and tenderness, recognizing the pain behind her whining words.
Finally, Jesus loves us to enough to confront us when our attitude is wrong - "Those whom I love" says the Lord, "I rebuke and discipline" (Revelation 3 verse 19). And that is what the Saviour did with Martha. He intuitively understood Martha's pain, but that didn't stop him from telling her what she needed to hear.
And Martha to her credit, listened.
Too often, I think, we hold on to doubt and confusion until our questions explode as accusations. We shake our fists at God, raging from all the hurt. Then human nature makes us want to run and hide, nursing our perceived injustice and licking our wounds.
But Martha didn't do this. She stated her case, yes, but then she stuck around to hear Jesus' ruling. Though she accused him of neglect, she was willing to listen to his response. She was willing to leave the outcome in his hands.
I love the compassion of Jesus in this story. He saw Martha's situation. He understood her complaint. But he loved her too much to give her what she wanted. Instead, Jesus gave her what she needed - an invitation to draw close to him. With open arms, he invited the troubled woman to leave her worries and cares and find refuge in him alone.
Because, when you have questions, there is no better place to go than to the One who has the answers.
The answer to the question
"Lord, don't you care?"
Of course he cares. That's why he came.
If I were God, wanting to touch base with man, I'd drop by for a visit. Maybe a week or two with plenty of advance advertising, hitting the major cities before returning to my comfy celestial throne. Just long enough to get people's attention and straighten things out, then "Beam me up Scotty!" I'd be out of there.
Who in their right mind would leave heaven to actually live on earth? Why that would be like a farmer selling his cozy farmhouse so he could live in his pigsty. But that is exactly what Jesus did.
God became one of us so that when we ask "Lord, don't you care?" we can know without a doubt that he does. Instead of paying a house call or a flashy extraterrestrial visit, he took up residence among us. Through Jesus Christ incarnate, God entered the world through the same doorway we do. Then he stuck around as long as we'd let him, until we sent him, dying, out the same painful exit we will go.
Does he care? You'd better believe it.
Because until you settle that question once and for all, you will never get past doubt to true belief. You'll forever be faced with a shiny apple and the hiss of temptation to take matters into your own hands.
The fact is, until we stop doubting God's goodness, we can't experience God's love.
Martha spoke her secret fear aloud, and we can too. But, like Martha we must stic around long enough to hear the sweet reassurance of his anser.
Don't expect any explanations or apologies. After all, God is God. If righteous Job couldn't force God to give an account for his actions, then we shouldn't expect to always understand his mysterious ways.
But rest assured, God will answer. He longs to reveal his love to you. But you won't find it by shaking your fist in his face. You won't find it by barging into his presence and demanding to be treated fairly. You'll find it by sitting at his feet and remembering who he is.
Emmanuel, God with us.
He knows the journey is difficult. He knows life is rarely fair. Jesus fought the same frigid winds of distraction, discouragement and doubt that keep us from knowing God's love. But like the Father, he longs to gather us in his arms. He longs to trade the flimsy blankets of our own self-sufficiency for his all-sufficiency. The Jesus invites us to cast our doubts, our fears and anxiety upon him, to discover how much he really does care.
Trust me, my child, he whispers, I have your ultimate good in mind.
CHAPTER 3 - THE DIAGNOSIS
Worry rituals - biting fingernails, pacing the floor, lying awake at night. All because of worry. We manipulate and postulate, desperate to solve the puzzle. And yet we seem to find few answers. We are anxious people. We are a nation of worriers.
It is hardly a modern phenomenon. Jesus described precisely the same condition 2000 years ago. He didn't write a book or establish a clinic. He had no medical degree, but he knew the human heart and soul. Out of the vast knowledge known only to a creator concerning the created, Jesus spoke truth to a woman caught in chronic worry.
"Martha, Martha" Jesus observed gently, "you are worried and upset about many things." This must have stopped her in her tracks. I am sure she wanted to say "now wait a minute Lord, I am just trying to serve you." But his tender words cut through her excuses and pretense. In one short sentence, Jesus diagnosed the problem that has plagued humankind since the beginning of time. We can trace its roots back to a Garden, a Tree and the Fall of mankind.
It is the curse of anxiety. The ongoing burden of worry and fear.
It wasn't supposed to happen to us. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was off-limits for good reason - our own protection. God had created the man and the woman to enjoy a mutual love relationship with him, the same relationship we were created to enjoy. He would take care of us and provide all of our needs. We in return, would "enjoy God and worship him forever" as the Westminster Creed so beautifully puts it.
But rather than viewing the boundaries as evidence of God's mercy, Adam and Eve interpreted the command as a power play on God's part - a desire to withhold something good. So they took and they ate. Their eyes were opened. And what they saw was far more than they expected. Instead of receiving godlike power, they were terrified to behold their nakedness and utter helplessness. But instead of running back to God, they hid from him.
Why? Genesis 3 verse 10 tells us they were afraid. But I think it was more than simple fear of God's wrath that sent them diving for cover.
For the very first time, the man and the woman saw themselves apart from God. Like 2 children lost and alone, they suddenly saw Eden as a frightening place rather than a beautiful paradise. Suddenly with the knowledge of good and evil, came shadows and dark corners, strange sounds and frightening noises. No longer were God's children innocent and unaware. No longer were they safe under God's protection.
With the bite of the apple came the stark, terrible truth: Adam and Eve were on their own. So like naughty little kids, they ran and hid, trying to buy enough time to figure a way out of this snake-induced mess. Cut off by their own disobedience from the very God they needed, they grew chronically fearful and anxious.
And so it has gone, all the way down to Martha of Bethany. All the way down to you and me.
"An anxious heart weighs a man down" Proverbs 12 verse 25
The heavy burden of anxiety offers no real benefits. Jesus highlighted this basic futility when he reminded us "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Matthew 6 verse 27
It's been said that worry is like a rocking chair - it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere. One interesting set of statistics indicates that there is nothing we can do about 70% of our worries!
What we worry about
40% are things that will never happen
30% are about the past - which can't be changed
12% are about criticism by others, mostly untrue
10% are about health, which gets worse with stress
8% are about real problems that can be solved
Worry is really a waste of time. But it's also more than that. Worry is not only futile. It's actually bad for us.
The physical and emotional damage caused by chronic anxiety is well known and well documented.
"I have never known a man who died from overwork but many who died from doubt" Dr Charles H Mayo of the Mayo Clinic
Researchers have established connections between chronic worry and weakened immune systems, cardiovascular disease, neurological imbalances, clinical depression and other physical and psychological dysfunctions - not to mention specific anxiety-related illnesses such as panic attacks, agoraphobia, and obsessive compulsive disorders.
No wonder the bible tells us more than 350 times to "fear not".
The truth is, we were simply not wired for worry. We were not fashioned for fear. And if we want to live healthy lives, we have to find a way to leave our chronic anxiety behind.
But beyond our physical well-being, there lies a more pressing spiritual reason not to worry. If anxiety caused God's closest friends Adam and Eve to hide from his face, just imagine what worry must do to you and to me.
Why the Bible tells us not to worry
When God tells us in the bible not to worry, it isn't a suggestion. It's a command. Worry and/or anxiety is specifically mentioned 25 times in the New Testament alone as something we should avoid.
The words used most often for worry and anxiety in the New Testament come from the same Greek word, meridzoe, which means "to be divided, to be pulled in opposite directions, to choke" (Perhaps we wear anxiety around our necks after all).
In the parable of the sower, Jesus tells us: "The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures" (Luke 8 verse 14). These people have accepted the Word of God, Jesus says, but "they do not mature." Gasping for spiritual breath, worry-bound, thorny-ground Christians may survive, but they never truly thrive.
The Old English word for worry meant "to gnaw". Like a dog with bone, a worrier chews on his problem all day long. Jesus warned us specifically against this kind of chronic anxiety when he said, "Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life" (Matthew 6 verse 25).
Why is the bible so adamant about our avoiding fear and worry? Because God knows worry short-circuits our relationship with him. It fixes our eyes on our situation rather than on our Saviour.
Our mind disperses the problem into billions of fear droplets, obscuring God's face. Taking our anxiety to the Lord is often the last thing we think of when we are spiritually fogged in. And yet only the "Son" has the power to disperse it. Without him, one fear leads to another and our lives slow to a painful crawl
Worry as a Way of Life
Worry can become a habit, even a way of life - and it's not easy to let go of it. After all, sometimes it actually seems to work.
Unfortunately, the belief that worry actually helps us is just an illusion - and a dangerous illusion at that. Worry doesn't prevent bad things from happening. In fact, it may prevent us from leading the full lives God intends us to live. Instead of helping us solve life's problems, anxiety creates new ones, including a tendency to unhealthy introspection.
It is common for worriers to let their imaginations get the best of them. Rather than relying on facts, they let one worry stack against another until the domino effect sets in - one fear gets the next one moving and so on and so on. That is why truth can be such a powerful antidote to worry.
Toxic worry - that is quite a description - but it rings true.
Unchecked, worry seeps into our thoughts, poisoning our joy, convincing us to give up on solutions before we've even tried them. Instead of looking for the best, we assume the worst. And we're not in the least surprised when the worst finds us.
What a terrible way to live! No wonder Jesus commanded us to set our worries aside, to "fear not".
Worry Versus Concern
When Jesus told us not to worry, he wasn't asking us to live in denial, a sugarcoated fairy tale. He wasn't telling us there's nothing to be concerned about.
The truth is: we live surrounded by opportunities for fear, anxiety and worry. Because our world is filled with struggles and real pain, we face legitimate concerns every day. Bad things do happen to good people - and not-so-good people as well. Real problems do occur, usually on a daily basis. People don't act the way they ought to. Relationships falter and sometimes fail. There is potential for pain all around us. And there are certainly things that require concern and action on our part.
Jesus knew this better than anybody. He spent most of his life being harassed and pursued by his enemies. So why did he tell us not to worry? Jesus knew that a life-filled with fear has little room left for faith. And without faith, we can neither please God nor draw close to him for comfort and guidance we need to face the cares and affairs of everyday life.
"Worry is allowing problems and distress to come between us and the heart of God. It is the view that God has somehow lost control of the situation and we cannot trust him. A legitimate concern presses us closer to the heart of God and causes us to lean and trust on him all the more." Gary E Gilley
Concern draws us to God. Worry pulls us from him. I think this distinction is especially helpful for those of us who tend to spiritualize worry, convincing ourselves that it's our duty to fret about such things as the state of the world, our finances or our futures.
"Fussing always ends in sin. We imagine that a little anxiety and worry are an indication of how really wise we are; it is much more an indication of how really wicked we are. Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way. Our Lord never worried and he was never anxious, because he was not 'out' to realise his own idea; he was 'out' to realise God's ideas. Fretting is wicked if you are a child of God ... All our fret and worry is caused by calculating without God." Oswald Chambers
That's something we all need to remember when it comes to this issue of worry. We face legitimate concerns every day of our lives. But instead of fretting, instead of worrying, we need to focus on discerning what we can do (with God's help) and what should be left entirely up to God.
Even more important, we need to keep our focus on who God is and what God can do.
The bills won't pay themselves. But we serve Jehovah Jireh - the God who provides. The mole on our arm may indeed need to be checked and may even turn out to be cancerous. But we serve Jehovah-Rapha - the God who heals. There is plenty in this world to be concerned about. But we serve El-Shaddai - an almighty God.
Jesus warned us "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16 verse 33). Catch that! He said "you will" not "you might". Troubles come with this earthly territory.
"But take heart!" Jesus says. "I have overcome the world."
If we have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we are not alone. We are never alone. When life comes blustering down the street, threatening to huff and puff and blow our house down, we can rest in ease. Because we live within a mighty fortress. Because we are hidden beneath almighty wings. Because we have a strong older Brother right there beside us. And he's rolling up his sleeves.
That's the reason we can leave our worry behind - not because there's nothing to be concerned about, but because we have Someone who can handle them a lot better than we can.
Three steps to victory
Paul had all kinds of reasons to worry as he sat in a Roman prison awaiting possible death sentence. But instead of writing the Philippians a sob story Paul wrote an incredible epistle of joy.
"Do not be anxious about anything" Paul wrote in Philippians 4 verses 6 and 7, "But in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
In this short passage, we find 3 concise and practical steps to victory over worry.
1. Be anxious about nothing
2. Be prayerful about everything
3. Be thankful for all things
When Paul wrote the words, "Do not be anxious about anything" he literally meant "not even one thing!" Nothing. Not our families not our finances, nor our future nor our past. Not even one thing. Allow one little worry in, and another is sure to follow, then another. It's better to cut it all off at the source. To be anxious about nothing.
But of course, the only way to carry off that first order is to carry out the second - to "pray about everything". And Paul literally meant "every single thing!" There is nothing too big, nothing too small, that we cannot bring to the heart of our Father.
"Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden." Corrie Ten Boom
Fretting magnifies the problem, but prayer magnifies God.
"The reasons our problems often seem overwhelming is that we allow the things of time to loom larger in our gaze than the things of eternity" Selwyn Hughes, Every Day Light
"The tiniest of coins, when held close to the eyes, can blot out the sun."
Perhaps that's why Paul finishes his prescription for worry with one last piece of crucial advice. "Be thankful for all things!" Look at everything God has done.
"Count your blessings, name them one by one!"
If we aren't grateful for what God has done in the past and in the present, we won't have faith to believe God for things in the future.
Gratitude is important because it has the power to change our attitude. When we are willing to give thanks to God in all things, not just some things - to consciously thank him even when we don't feel very grateful - something in us begins to shift. We begin to see life as Christ sees it, full of opportunities rather than obstacles. And when we view life through eyes of faith, fear just has to flee.
The choice that leads to peace
So much depends on our perspective. If my God isn't bigger than life, then my life is bigger than God - and that's when anxiety takes over.
"It's an interesting thing, the human mind. It can only focus on a couple of things at a time. When we're preoccupied with a problem and focus on our own inadequacy to handle it, there's really no room to add God to the picture. The ability to think rationally returns only when we refocus on God's adequacy." Bill and Kathy Peel, Discover Your Destiny
And when we do that, Paul says "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4 verse 7
When we decide to pray instead of worry - when we choose to have a grateful heart in not-so-great circumstances - then the peace of God comes and takes us into "protective custody." It stands guard at the door of our heart, transcending, surpassing and confounding our own human understanding, bringing us peace.
Relieved of duty, we can take off our worry beads and pick up our shield of faith. And then we can stand back and watch God move.
Will we pray? Or will we worry? we really can't do both.
The Battlefield of the Mind
"Finally, brothers, whatsoever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things" (Philippians 4 verse 8). Paul closes his advice on worry with a checklist of things to think about. Will our thoughts center on things true or false? Noble or nasty? Right or wrong? Pure or putrid? Lovely or lewd? Admirable or abominable? Excellent and praiseworthy? Or sordid and contemptible?
"Garbage in, garbage out". We have all heard the saying. What we put in our minds affects our hearts. And out of the abundance of our hearts, our mouths speak. Our minds churn. Our lust burns. And lives overturn.
We cannot underestimate the effect of what we think about. The war of worry, as well as the trial of temptation is won and lost on the battlefield of our minds.
A new mind
So many of us, even Christians, complain about our struggle against sin, but then we secretly supply Satan with all the ammunition he needs. We know we shouldn't be reading that book. We know the telephone conversation we had yesterday was less than glorifying to the Lord. We know the unforgiveness we've harboured for so long is hardening into rage. But still we cling to it - and then we wonder why we have such a hard time making positive changes in our lives.
We must be willing to take an active role in the battle against anxiety. For too long I'd allowed Satan total access to my thought life, and by doing so, I'd given him free rein.
The word for meditate has been likened to a cow chewing on its cud. Instead of gnawing on the problems we should train our minds to chew on the promises of God's word. And as the Holy Spirit brings back God's word to our remembrance something exciting happens. Anxiety flees in the face of truth and peace - the kind of peace that quieted the disciples' raging storm - comes to take its place.
The kind of peace only Jesus can give. Peace, be still.
Perfect Peace
"Perfect love casteth out fear" 1 John 4 verse 18
J B Phillips translates this verse "Love contains no fear - indeed fully developed love expels every particle of fear, for fear always contains some of the torture of feeling guilty. This means that the man who lives in fear has not yet had his love perfected."
When Jesus said "Martha, Martha ..." so gently that frantic day in Bethany, he was speaking to you and me as well. Lovingly, if we'll listen, he whispers his diagnosis concerning the state of our souls: "you're worried" he points out. "You're anxious. It isn't just about this meal; it's about everything."
And with the diagnoses comes a choice.
Come find love, Jesus invites us. Come find a love so perfect that it covers all your faults and pronounces you "not guilty". Come find a love that chases fear out the door! Come find everything you've ever longed for. Come find peace for your soul.
"Do not let your hearts be troubled, trust in God; trust also in me" John 14 verse 1
He's urging us all to lay aside our worry beads, to give up fiddling with things we can never hope to fix and to seek his face insttead.
He's calling us to the Great Exchange - the one where we can never lose. As we trade the "many things" that make us anxious, he gives us the "one thing" that calms our hearts. Himself.
For he is the Prince of Peace.
CHAPTER 4 - THE CURE
"You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed." Luke 10 verses 41 and 42
The story is told of a man who met God in a lovely valley one day.
"How are you this morning?" God asked the fellow.
"I'm fine, thank you" the man replied. "Is there anything I can do for you today?"
"Yes there is" God said. "I have a wagon with 3 stones in it and I need someone to pull it up the hill for me. Are you willing?"
"Yes, I'd love to do something for you. Those stones don't look very heavy and the wagon's in good shape. I'd be happy to do that. Where would you like me to take it?"
God gave the man specific instructions, sketching a map in the dust at the side of the road. "Go through the woods and up that road that winds up the side of the hill. Once you get to the top, just leave the wagon there. Thank you for your willingness to help me today."
"No problem!" the man replied and set off cheerfully. The wagon pulled a bit behind him, but the burden was an easy one. He began to whistle as he walked quickly through the forest. The sun peeked through the trees and warmed his back. What a joy to be able to help the Lord, he thought, enjoying the beautiful day.
Just around the third bend, he walked into a small village. People smiled and greeted him. Then, at the last house, a man stopped him and asked "How are you this morning? What a nice wagon you have. Where are you off to?"
"Well, God gave me a job this morning. I'm delivering these 3 stones to the top of the hill."
"My goodness! Can you believe it? I was just praying this morning about how I was going to get this rock I have up to the top of the mountain" the man told him with great excitement. "You don't suppose you could take it up there for me? It would be such an answer to prayer."
The man with the wagon smiled and said "Of course, I don't suppose God would mind. Just put it behind the other 3 stones." Then he set off with 3 stones and rock rolling behind him.
The wagon seemed a bit heavier. He could feel the jolt of each bump and the wagon seemed to pull to one side a bit. The man stopped to adjust the load as he sang a hymn of praise, pleased to be helping out a brother as he served God. Then he set off again and soon reached another small village at the side of the road. A good friend lived there and offered him a glass of cider.
"You're going to the top of the hill?" his oldest friend asked.
"Yes! I am so excited. Can you imagine, God gave me something to do!"
"Hey!" said his friend, "I need this bag of pebbles taken up. I've been so worried that it might not get taken care of since I haven't any time to do it myself. But you could fit it in right between the 3 stones here in the middle." With that, he placed his burden in the wagon.
"Shouldn't be a problem" the man said "I think I can handle it". He finished the cider, then stood up and brushed his hands on his overalls before gripping the handle of the wagon. He waved good-bye and began to pull the wagon back onto the road.
The wagon was definitely tugging on his arm now, but it wasn't uncomfortable. As he started up the incline, he began to feel the weight of the 3 stones, the rock, and the pebbles. Still, it felt good to help a friend. Surely God would be proud of how energetic and helpful he'd been.
One little stop followed another and the wagon grew fuller and fuller. The sun was hot above the man pulling it, and his shoulders ached with the strain. The songs of praise and thanksgiving that had filled his heart had long since left his lips as resentment began to build inside. Surely this wasn't what he had signed up for that morning. God had given him a burden heavier than he could bear.
The wagon felt huge and awkward as it lumbered and swayed over the ruts in the road. Frustrated, the man was beginning to have visions of giving up and letting the wagon roll backward. God was playing a cruel game with him. The wagon lurched, and the load of obligations collided with the back of his legs, leaving bruises. "This is it!" he fumed. "God can't expect me to haul this all the way up the mountain."
"Oh God" he wailed. "This is too hard for me! I thought you were behind this trip, but I am overcome by the heaviness of it. You'll have to get someone else to do it. I'm just not strong enough."
As he prayed, God came to his side "Sounds like you're having a hard time. What's the problem?"
"You gave me a job that is too hard for me" the man sobbed, "I'm just not up to it!" God walked over to where the wagon was braced with a stone. "What is this?" He held up the bag of pebbles.
"That belongs to John, my good friend. He didn't have time to bring it up himself. I thought it would help."
"And this?" God tumbled 2 pieces of shale over the side of the wagon as the man tried to explain.
God continued to unload the wagon, removing both light and heavy items. They dropped to the ground, the dust swirling up around them. The man who had hoped to help God grew silent. "If you will be content to let others take their burdens" God told him "I will help you with your task."
"But I promised I would help! I can't leave these things lying here."
"Let others shoulder their own belongings" God said gently. "I know you were trying to help, but when you are weighted down with all these cares, you cannot do what I have asked of you."
The man jumped to his feet, suddenly realizing the freedom God was offering. "You mean I only have to take the 3 stones after all?" he asked.
"That is what I asked you to do" God smiled. "My yoke is easy and my burden is light. I will never ask you to carry more than you can bear."
"I can do that!" said the man grinning from ear to ear. He grabbed the wagon handle and set off once again, leaving the rest of the burdens beside the road. The wagon still lurched and jolted lightly, but he hardly noticed.
A new song filled his lips, and he noticed a fragrant breeze wafting over the path. With great joy he reached the top of the hill. It had been a wonderful day, for he had done what the Lord had asked.
An overloaded wagon
I've felt like the man hauling rocks - overburdened, overworked, and overwhelmed. What started as a joy became drudgery, and I felt like giving up.
Nothing is harder to bear than a burden we're not called to carry. While God does ask us to bear one another's burdens, he has not asked us to step in and do what people are not willing to do themselves. And while there are many needs, God has not asked us to meet every need.
In fact, we like Martha, may be surprised by how little God actually requires.
The Jews, eager to please God, were big on rules and regulations. God had given the law and because they loved him, they were determined to live it out to the fullest. If a little law was good, then surely more law was even better. At least that was the opinion of the Pharisees, one of the 2 religious sects who most influenced the common people of Jesus' day.
In their desire to be a perfect nation, the Pharisees took the basic precepts God had laid out to Moses and began creating ways to apply them to everyday life. Eventually they created the Mishnah, a collection of over 600 hundred rules and regulations designed to help Jews live out the Law to the last jot and title. The mandates ranged from the sublimed to the ridiculous. Especially those surrounding the Sabbath.
God's law required a weekly day of rest, a ceasing from labour and a laying down of burdens. From the appearance of the first evening star on Friday night until the setting sun on Saturday, Jews were required to cease all work - and the rules about what constituted work were quite exacting. The Pharisees interpreted this to mean that a man who carried a needle in his cloak on the Sabbath was sewing. If he dragged a chair across a sandy floor, he was plowing. if he carried his mattress, he was bearing a burden. If he plucked corn and rubbed it in his hands, he was reaping. In all of these things, he was considered to be breaking the Law.
The Pharisees even argued that it was wrong to eat an egg laid on a Sabbath because the hen had been working. The "official" Sabbath burden that one could legally carry was the weight of one dried fig.
But instead of drawing the nation of Israel closer to God, the pharisaic law became a stumbling block. It was impossible to keep every petty particular of what Jesus called "heavy loads" (Matthew 23 verses 2 to 4)
It is in this legalistic setting that we find Martha. The Jewish religion was patriarchal by nature. Only men were allowed to sit on the Sanhedrin ruling council. Only men were allowed in the synagogue; the women sat outside. Only men were allowed to wear scripture-filled phylacteries upon their foreheads or left arms to remind them to obey God's Law. The outward trappings of godly devotion were largely a male domain.
Women who wanted to show their love for God were encouraged to do it through good works - but that was about their only option. They were allowed to enter the Women's Court of the Temple to worship but no farther. In the wilderness, they had only been allowed as far as the tabernacle door. Even Solomon, in his description of the perfect woman, mentioned little of her spiritual walk with God - only the duties she fulfilled.
And Jewish women had duties by the dozens. Even keeping the Sabbath meant a lot of work for the women of Jesus' day. Though the Sabbath was mandated as a day of rest for women as well as men, the day before the Sabbath was filled with frantic preparation. There were 3 kosher meals to prepare, lamps to be filled with olive oil, and jugs to be filled to the brim with water for ceremonial washing. The house had to be cleaned, and the whole family needed freshly laundered tunics to wear the next day.
And that was for an "ordinary" Sabbath. Feast days and special events required extra preparations.
The day Jesus visited Martha and Mary was probably busier than usual. The Feast of the Tabernacles was near, and the house was filled with cooking and activity. This pilgrimage feast was held early in the fall and was one of 3 feasts every adult male Jew within a 15 miles radius was required to come to Jerusalem to celebrate.
The Feast of Tabernacles lasted 7 days, followed by a special Sabbath. held just after harvest, it was a time of great celebration and joy. the people left their homes to live in booths or small tents in memory of their time in the wilderness.
Bethany sat at the eastern edge of the Mount of Olives, just 2 miles away from Jerusalem. At the time of Jesus' visit, the town's gentle slopes were probably filled with pilgrims' booths. In order to make room for worshippers during the great feasts, the boundaries of Jerusalem were usually extended to include Bethany.
So when Martha invited Jesus and his disciples to stay at her home on their way to Jerusalem, the accepted her kind hospitality. Martha continued with her expected tasks - making everything comfortable so everyone else could worship.
The thought of joining Jesus never occurred to her because it simply wasn't allowed. But she loved Jesus. I think she knew she was entertaining the Messiah. And so Martha showed her devotion by giving the gift she knew best. The gift of service.
But even welcome wagons can grow heavy as Martha quickly discovered. Especially when they're laden with the extra weight of our human agendas and expectations.
Dumping Rocks
Jesus came to earth and immediately tipped the Jewish wagonload of rules and regulations. He hit the religious leadership right where it hurt - smack dab in the middle of their spiritual pride. "Woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them" (Luke 11 verse 46).
To those helpless under the weight of Law, Christ became a Burden Bearer; "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11 verse 28) But to those who put faith in their religious accomplishments, he added yet another load: "One thing you lack" Jesus told the rich young ruler. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor ... Then come follow me." (Mark 10 verse 21) Jesus knew that sooner or later, the legalistic load would grow too heavy to bear alone and the religious would cry out for relief. And he would be there.
Jesus stripped away all the "traditions of men", the layers of dos and don'ts that had obscured the face of God. "This is who God is" he declared to the world. "Look and see! He loves you. He sent me so you could have life and fellowship with him. It isn't outward appearance that concerns the Father. it's your inner person."
That's what Jesus told Martha that busy afternoon. You're worried and upset about many things but only one thing is needed." And what was that one thing? Not cooking or cleaning or doing good works, but knowing God. Listening to him. Leaving the Kitchen long enough to experience the intimate fellowship of the Living Room.
"Only one thing is needed." With those words, Christ swept away centuries of chauvinism and bias, tradition and ritual. Women were no longer to be on the outside looking in when it came to spiritual matters. Just as surely as Christ's death would bridge the gap between God and humankind, so Jesus' words this day removed the gender barrier that separated women from their Maker.
Scripture doesn't tell us Martha's response to Jesus' astounding statement. But I can see Jesus offering his hand, welcoming her to join Mary down at his feet.
What did Martha do then, I wonder? Perhaps she sputtered excuses: the dinner, her apron, her hair. Perhaps she just withdrew, chastened. Or perhaps - as she stood there looking into her Master's eyes - Martha simply sank to her knees and began to listen.
The point is, we just don't know. While negative responses to Jesus' invitations in the bible are usually mentioned - the rich man left downcast, and the keepers of the Law left angry - this particular story is left unfinished. Perhaps it is to leave us room to determine our own response.
What will we do when told we've missed out on the best God has for us? Will we bow our knees or will we run back to what is familiar? Will we sputter excuses or humble our hearts?
It's hard to ignore the love of Jesus. The sweet wooing of the Holy Spirit calms our fears and shatters our defenses. Based on her subsequent encounters with Jesus, I believe that's exactly what happened to Martha. I believe she followed her Master's leading. She bent her knees and found his feet. She let God dump her wagon, so loaded with care, then allowed him to fill it with his presence.
Only then, as Martha let go of her lengthy list of to-dos and began doing the one thing that was needed, did she begin to give God what he really wants.
Giving the Gift God desires
So often we give God the gift we think he needs rather than take time to find out what he desires.
We make promises and New Year's resolutions to be more heavenly minded. This year we'll read the Bible through. This year we'll join a prayer group - or start a new one ourselves. This year we'll try that 40 day fast everyone's talking about.
We make goals to be more loving and less selfish. we look for opportunities to serve. And everything we do is important. All of it is good.
The problem is, contrary to popular belief, we can't do it all. We're not even supposed to try.
Romans 12 - Paul said that the body of Christ has many members and each of them has a different gifting - which means each has a different job to do. The fact that 20% of the church does 80% of the work is not at all what God intended.
Jesus' words to Martha are words to those of us who are overextended in service as well: "Only one thing is needed." We must take time to sit at Jesus' feet, to worship him, to get to know him better. When we put that first thing first, then he delights to reveal his will and our part in fulfilling it.
Sometimes I think I struggle to discern God's will because I'm surrounded by the obvious.
What does God desire?
If we could just get a handle on what God expects, the overachiever in us surmises, then it would be easy to please him. But that was the downfall of the Pharisees. They had reduced their relationship with God to a series of dos and don'ts entirely missing the purpose for which God had set them apart. They put on religious work clothes, not realizing God wasn't looking for maids and valets - he was looking for a people to call his own.
Now that's not to say that service for God is unimportant. The bible tells us, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might" (Ecclesiastes 9 verse 10) "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" according to James 2 verse 17. Serving God and others really is important. Hard work is often part of what we are called to do.
But service was never supposed to be our first priority. Work is not our first order of business - even working for the Lord. In fact, our own efforts are so far down the list when it comes to what God wants that they didn't even register in Jesus' conversation with Martha.
Only one thing is needed - and it was happening, not in the Kitchen but right there in the Living Room.
Notice, however, Jesus didn't rebuke Martha because she was fixing supper, thus instituting the eleventh commandment: "Thou shalt not cook" - although that would be a handy excuse when I don't feel like fixing dinner. Jesus wasn't concerned about Martha's external abilities at all. It was her internal disabilities that he probed - the dark corners of pride and prejudice, the spiritual handicap of busyness that left her unable to enjoy the intimacy of his presence.
After all, intimacy can be threatening. Getting close to Jesus means we can no longer hid our inadequacies. His light illuminates everything that is wrong and ugly about our lives. Unconsciously, therefore, we may flee God's presence rather than pursue it. And Satan spurs on our retreat by telling us we're not good enough to earn God's favour. He tells us that when we get our act together - that's when we can enter the Living Room.
But the truth is, we can't get our spiritual act together unless we go to the Living Room first.
It's not always easy to get there. Intimacy with God may require leaving our comfort zones. Some people feel uneasy in the presence of God. They dismiss the act of worship as too emotional, preferring the intellectual pursuit of bible study or doctrine. Or they simply have trouble being still, because that's their personality. But regardless of our temperament, regardless of our emotional preference, we are all called to intimacy with God. The one thing Martha needed is the one thing we need as well.
If you struggle to stay at his feet, ask the Lord to reveal what is hindering you. There is no need to lay aside your intellect or your personality when you enter the Living Room. Just come as you are.
As a child of God.
Children, after all love intimacy. From infancy when frightened or ill, the first place our children long to be is as close to our heart as they can get. They cuddle in, pressing themselves into our arms.
That is the intimacy our Father desires to share with us. Not because we've earned it, but because he hungers for it. And so do we, whether we're aware of it or not.
Longing for Fellowship
The Galatians had accepted Christ as Saviour and thrived under Paul's teaching and care. But when Paul left Galatia, the Judaizers moved in, telling them they still had a long way to go before they could enjoy true closeness to God. These were Jewish Christians who believed that the ceremonial practices of the Old Testament - including circumcision - were still binding upon the New Testament church. Paul, they said, had inappropriately removed legal requirements from the gospel in order to make it more appealing to the Gentiles.
Just as the scribes and Pharisees added rules and regulations to the Law, so the Judaizers attempted to mix a new form of legalism in with the gospel of grace. They wanted an outward manifestation of what could only be an inward work.
That's why Paul sent a wake-up letter to his beloved church in Galatia. He called the Judaizers' gospel slavery and he added, "You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? ... After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" (Galatians 3 verses 1 and 3)
If we aren't careful, we can fall prey to the same kind of lies the Galatians fell for - lies that tell us that we must perform in order to earn God's love, We can add so many requirements to our faith that the "one thing" is swallowed by the "many" and the "best" is obliterated by the "good".
The thing we must understand is that God did not choose us to "use" us.
We are not spiritual Oompa-Loompas, in some cosmic chocolate factory, working night and day to churn out a smoother, better-tasting Christianity.
We were not created to fill some egotistical need God has for praise - the angels forever encircle his throne with worship.
We are not some celestial science project; laboratory mice let loose in a maze to see how they interact.
No, the bible makes it clear that God created us because he longs to have fellowship with us. Our Father longs to pour his very life into us, to give us an inheritance and a share in his divine nature.
What does God desire? It is actually very simple.
He wants you. All of you.
One thing is needed
When Jesus told Martha that only one thing was needed in her life, the context of the verse clearly points to a spiritual call. The Better Part that Mary discovered was to be found not on the table, but at his feet.
However, the Greek phrase for "only one thing is needed" may also refer to food portions. Perhaps in a subtle turn of word, Jesus was issuing 2 invitations:
- First to know him - to put worship before work
- But also, not to overdo - even in our efforts on his behalf
Instead of partaking from a sideboard of fancy entrees, Jews usually ate out of a large common bowl placed in the middle of the table. Guests would break off pieces of bread and dip them in the soup or broth. Jesus may have gently reminded Martha that her overdone effort in preparing multiple dishes was keeping her so busy in the kitchen that she was missing out on the real "food" , the real "life" of the party.
"Her fault was not that she served."
"The condition of a servant well becomes every Christian. Her fault was that she grew 'cumbered with much serving' so that she forgot him and only remembered the service." Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening
How easy it is to confuse duty with devotion: the common with communion. That was Martha's downfall and it can be mine as well. For in her effort to set a table worthy of the Son of God, she nearly missed the real banquet. And I too, can get so overwhelmed that my worship becomes work rather than delight, and devotion becomes just another duty.
If I am not too careful, th spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible study and praise can become little more than items to be checked off my to-do list or rocks I'm tempted to dump off my wagon because they slow me down. And so I need to hear Jesus' cure for all my worry and distress.
"Only one thing is needed" - and that is found in true fellowship with him.
For he, after all, is the Bread of Life, the Living Water, the only "dish" we need. he wants to change our hearts and empower our lives. He wants us to find the great freedom of Luke 10 verse 42.
I cannot do everything, but I can do "one thing".
I cannot meet every need, but I can respond in obedience to the need the Spirit lays on my heart.
I cannot carry every load, but I can carry the load God has for me.
For his yoke, indeed is easy, and his burden is truly light.
CHAPTER 5 - LIVING ROOM INTIMACY
What does intimacy with God mean to you? How do you achieve it?
According to Hinduism a religion based on the karma of good works, one lifetime isn't enough for the soul to achieve spiritual enlightenment. Hindu mathematicians calculate it takes 5.8 million rotations through reincarnation for the good and evil in us to finally balance out so that we can receive the ultimate spiritual level of nirvana.
In the Far East, during religious festivals, men often have hooks inserted under the skin of their backs. These hooks are then tied to wagonloads of rocks, which the men drag through the streets, hoping to obtain forgiveness for their sins. In certain areas of Mexico, the devout crawl miles on their knees in pilgrimage.
All over the world people go to unimaginable lengths to find God - which is sad when you consider the unimaginable lengths God has already gone to find us.
We don't need millions of lifetimes in order to be pure enough to see God. All we really need is Jesus. For he is all the evidence we need. The Father actually wants us close and is willing to do whatever is necessary to make sure it happens.
It's hard to imagine the Creator of the universe wanting to know us. We feel so unworthy. That's why many of us persist in thinking that we must earn our way to heaven, that only the superspiritual can really know God. Burdened with the weight of our own spirituality, we struggle beneath a load of self-imposed obligations: "I have to do this ..." or "I can't really know God until I do that ..." We can spend so much of our lives getting ready to know God or backing away out of fear of displeasing God that we never get around to enjoying the Living Room Intimacy Jesus came to provide.
And yet intimacy with God was indeed the very point of Jesus' coming and of his dying. "You who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ" Ephesians 2 verse 13 When Jesus died his cross bridged the great chasm of sin that separated us from God. With his last breath, Jesus blew aside the curtain that had kept sinful humans from touching a holy God. Now we could come into God's very presence, clean and approved, not by our works, but by his grace. Jesus "destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility" (verse 14) that had separated humanity from God.
When we couldn't reach up to heaven, heaven came down to us and welcomed us into the Living Room through the doorway of Jesus Christ.
That is the good news of the gospel.
The way has been made. The price has been paid. All we need to do is come. And that means there is nothing keeping any of us away from Living Room Intimacy. The "dividing wall of hostility" has been torn down, at least on God's side. But there may need to be a bit of demolition work on your end, because the enemy of your souls keep quite busy building barriers to block spiritual intimacy.
Barriers to Intimacy
Before salvation, Satan tells us we're just fine. We don't need a Saviour. But after we're saved, the Accuser points his bony finger at us and tells us we're no good. We don't deserve a Saviour. He's lying of course. Jesus says so in John 8 verse 44. Satan is "the father of lies." In fact, lying is what he does best - it's "his native language". The word for lie in the Greek is pseudos, which means falsehood or "an attempt to deceive". We attach the prefix pseudo in the English language to convey the thought of a counterfeit, a false look-alike.
And that's exactly what we get when we listen to Satan's lies and settle for less than God's best: pseudo-Christianity; pseudo-grace. Satan usually doesn't try to make us swallow a blatant lie - he's too smart for that. Instead he just doctors the truth for his own purpose, which is to keep us as far away from God as possible.
"Look at what you've done" he whispers. "How could God ever forgive you?" He twists the truth of sin into a bludgeon of guilt and shame and beats us with it, "You're no good, you're no good, you're no good ... baby, you're no good."
If we let him, he's gonna sing it again. Because every time we listen to his lying lyrics, we take another step backward, away from the Living Room. Away from the closeness our hearts yearn for.
Remember - Satan can use other circumstances just as effectively to keep you from drawing close to God. Take busyness for example. I wonder if God understands when we're too busy to attend to his presence in our lives. Or too tired. Or too embarrassed to admit we've done something he would disapprove of.
Make no mistake. Satan enjoys using our hectic schedules, stressed bodies, and emotional upsets in his efforts to put up barriers to our intimacy with God. That's why we need to take a close look at any thought, feeling, or activity that diminishes our appetite for intimacy with God.
We were designed to be close to God. Just as our bodies hunger and thirst for food and drink, our spirits hunger and thirst for his presence. But just as its possible to bloat our bodies with empty calories, we can find ways to pacify our spiritual cravings without really getting the nourishment we need.
If you're having a little trouble feeling close to God - or even wanting to draw close - you might want to consider what activities you are using to fill the empty places of your life. What's taking the edge off of your hunger for him?
Then again, it could be that you just need to start "eating" the good things of the Lord to find out how spiritually hungry you really are. You see, spiritual hunger and thirst don't work the same way as our physical needs. When our physical body feels hunger pains, we eat and our hunger is satisfied. But spiritually speaking, it isn't until we "eat" that we realise how famished we are. As we feast at God's table, something strange happens. We get hungrier. Thirstier. We want more! We have to have more.
"Our souls are elastic. There are no limits to possible capacity. We can always open ourselves to hold more and more of his fullness. The walls can always stretch further; the roof can always rise higher; the floor can always hold more. The more we receive of his fullness, the more we can receive." Kent Hughes, Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome
Once you've tasted the Living Room Intimacy Jesus offers, you'll find nothing else will satisfy. When you've sampled the best of the best, you'll be willing to skip the junk food this world offers in order to have a real sit-down meal with the Saviour.
"Taste and see that the Lord is good" Psalm 34 verse 8
What true devotion is ...
It is not a duty. It is a delight.
It is not an exercise in piety. It is a privilege.
And it is not so much a visit as it is a homecoming
Robert Boyd Munger, My Heart Christ's Home: "Without question one of the most remarkable Christian doctrines is that Jesus Christ Himself through the presence of the Holy Spirit will actually enter a heart, settle down and be at home there. Jesus came into the darkness of my heart and turned on the light. He built a fire in the cold heart and banished the chill. He started music where there had been stillness and He filled the emptiness with his own loving, wonderful fellowship."
Munger goes on to tell how he showed Christ around the house of his heart inviting him to "settle down here and be perfectly at home" welcoming him room by room. Together they visited the library of his mind - "a very small room with very thick walls." They peered into the dining room of his appetites and desires. They spent a little time in the workshop where his talents and skills were kept and the rumpus room of "certain associations and friendships, activities and amusements." They even poked their heads into the hall closet filled with dead rotting things he had managed to hoard.
As Munger described each room, they reflected my heart as well.
"The trouble with you is this: You have been thinking of the quiet time, of the bible study and prayer time, as a factor in your own spiritual progress, but you have forgotten that this hour means something to me also."
What an amazing thought - that Christ wants to spend quality time with me. That he looks forward to our time together and misses me when I don't show up. Once that message started sinking into my heart, I started looking at my devotional time in a whole new way - not as a ritual, but as a relationship. And a relationship doesn't just happen. It has to be nurtured, protected and loved.
The Comforts of Home
The place Mary found at Jesus' feet is the same place available to you and me. It's a place where we can be comfortable, where we can kick off our shoes and let down our hair. It's a place of transparency and vulnerability; a place where we are completely known yet completely loved. It is truly a place called home.
If we love him and obey his teachings. Jesus says in John 14 verse 23:, God will actually come and live with us. "My Father will love him" he said of those who follow him, "and we will come to him and make our home with him".
And it goes both ways. Jesus not only wants to be at home in us; he also wants to make our home in him. "God wants to be your dwelling place" Max Lucado writes in The Great House of God:
"He has no interest in being a weekend getaway or a Sunday bungalow or a summer cottage. Don't consider using God as a vacation cabin or an eventual retirement home. He wants you under his roof now and always. He wants to be your mailing address, your point of reference; he wants to be your home."
What a beautiful, gracious offer from the Lord of hosts. It's hard to imagine saying no to the opportunity to live in God and rest in him. But we can - and so often we do. Isaiah 28 gives a vivid picture of what happens when we refuse. "This is the resting place, let the weary rest" God told the Israelites through his prophet Isaiah (chapter 28 verse 12). "This is the place of repose" he said, inviting them to be at home with him.
But the Israelites would not listen, according to Isaiah. Instead of making God their dwelling place, they insisted on a more independent living arrangement. And what happened then is the very picture of what happens to us when we refuse the Father's offer of at-home intimacy. Isaiah says in verse 13 "So then the word of the Lord to them will become: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there."
Matthew Henry, writing about these verses, says that the Israelites "would not heed ... they went on in a road of external performances ... The prophet's preaching was continually sounding in their ears, but that was all; it made no impression upon them; they had the letter of the precept, but no experience of the power and spirit of it; it was continually beating upon them, but it beat nothing into them."
Sound familiar, Martha? it does to me. When we refuse God's offer of grace filled rest in the Living Room, the only alternative is the tyranny of works, which doesn't work! We will be driven to do more and more - more service projects, more committee chairmanships, more spiritual extra-curricular activities - trying to win God's approval. And still we will fail, because what the Father really wants is for us to find our identity - our "mailing address" as Lucado puts it - in him and him alone.
How to Live Together
Jesus came to show us the way to the Father's house. Instead of making a once-a-year visit to the Holy of Holies, we're invited to dwell there. To make our home in God's throne room - or if you prefer his Living Room.
But practically speaking, how is that possible? Jesus gives us a hint in John's gospel. "Abide in me and I will abide in you" John 15 verse 4. Abide means to live or dwell. Dwell in me, he promises. And I will dwell in you.
Then, to give us an even better idea of what being at home with God really means, Jesus uses a word picture so simple a child can grasp it, though it may take a lifetime to implement.
"See this vine?" I can hear Jesus ask, holding one up for inspection. "See this branch? See where they are connected? Well, that's the way it is with you and me."
"I am the vine" was what he actually said. "You are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15 verse 5
All our "do and do", our "rules on rules" will never accomplish what Jesus can when we let him have his way in our life. But in order for that to happen we must be connected to him. It's not enough simply to be associated. To be acquainted. We have to be spiritually grafted on - to draw our life from him, to be so closely attached that we would wither and die if we were cut off.
It is the tree, not the branch that determines the fruit. The tree is the life source. The branch has no power of its own. But once it gets connected, once that sap gets flowing and those leaves start growing, that insignificant little twig will find itself loaded with fruit. And it didn't have to do anything - except abide.
Staying Close
My relationship with God works the same way. My sole responsibility is keeping my connection to Jesus Christ solid and secure. How is that done? It's really not that complicated. As trite as it may sound, the formula for intimacy with God remains the same today as it has always been:
PRAYER + the WORD + TIME = INTIMACY with GOD
What is prayer? Simply talking to God. Prayer is my heart crying out to the Lord for guidance and wisdom, for my own needs as well as the needs of others. As I focus my heart on him, prayer allows me to express my love through praise, to declare my absolute dependence on him alone. Then, as I wait before the Lord, he reveals his heart to me.
One of the most precious ways God expresses his love for us is through his word, the bible, which is the second essential factor in intimacy. The Hebrew word for bible is mikra, which means "the calling out of God."
We do not have to wonder what God thinks, what he feels about certain topics, because to a large extent he has already told us through scripture. Better yet, we don't have to wonder whether he loves us or not. The old English word for gospel is godspell. God spells out his love for the whole world to see. It's right there in his Word.
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you" the Lord tells us in Isaiah 43 verse 1, 4 "I have summoned you by name ... You are precious and honoured in my sight ... because I love you." We are a chosen people. Make holy, Deeply and dearly loved by God. How do I know that? I hear God's voice telling me, "calling out" to me, every time I open his word.
Time is an essential factor in Living Room Intimacy for a purely practical reason. if I don't take time to pray; there will be no real communication in our relationship. If I don't take time to read God's word, I won't hear his loving call. And if I don't make time to be alone with Jesus, our relationship will suffer, because time is integral to any relationship.
"Think of it this way. Our lives are like photographic plates and prayer is like a time exposure to God. As we expose ourselves to God for a half hour, an hour, perhaps 2 hours a day, his image is imprinted more and more upon us. More and more we absorb the image of his character, his love, his wisdom, his way of dealing with life and people." Kent Hunt describing the intimate impact of spending time with God
That's what I want. That's what I need. And that's what I receive when I spend time in God's word and in prayer. I get more of Jesus and in the process a little less of me.
Maintaining Intimacy
God longs to make his home in us. And he longs for us to make our home in him. Think of it. Christ "in us" (1 John 4 verse 13). Our lives "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3 verse 3). What an incredible, intimate entangling of humanity and divinity!
There is only one thing that can stop such Living Room Intimacy and that is our own sin. For though there is nothing we can do to attain our salvation, there is much to be done to maintain our connection to the Vine. Because sin interrupts the life-flow we need to grow, we must do all we can to maintain a pure heart before God.
Conscious repentance leads to unconscious holiness. Oswald Chambers
Intimacy with God? It's pretty simple, really.
It's not a pillar we sit on; it's a house we live in.
It's not a list of dos and don'ts; it's a branch staying connected to the Vine.
It's not striving to know God, but realising that our Father longs to know us.
And it's free for the taking - at least for you and me.
But we must never forget - it cost Jesus his very life.
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