“Do you know how stressed you have to be to yell at God?”
The words echoed from the stage at my college ministry. The room was silent. Or maybe it only seemed silent to me. The speaker had no idea how on point he was.
Two days before I had done just that: yelled at God about how He was not helping me. The weekend before, while in prayer about new aspects of my life to surrender, I felt prompted to give up the way I was currently planning my weeks. My planning looked like a step-by-step process of how and when I would complete all I had to do for the week. Very little was left unplanned. (Okay, I know, I know what a nerd)
Now, the Lord was telling me to throw that out the window. That is a little overdramatic, but it certainly felt that way. I was led to simply write down what I had to do each day. That was it. No hourly planning or measuring out. As the next week came when I began this practice, seemingly the entire world fell apart (overdramatized). I was stressed beyond belief about finishing everything I needed to do and was frustrated with the One who could do something about it.
How did the speaker, a man I had never met before, know this?
Well, he was not talking about me. He was talking about Martha.
Martha the “Busybody”
I am sure you know Martha – the busybody, the one who “was not like Mary,” the stressed one. The one who is portrayed as taking on too much, not caring enough, or doing more than she should. That is why she did not have time for Jesus. At least, that is how I have always heard her talked about.
We read about Martha and her sister Mary in Luke 10:38-41. Pull out your Bible or read it below, but either way make sure you actually read it 🙂
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (ESV)
Let’s first focus on Martha. The first thing we see is that Martha wanted Jesus in her home. It says she welcomed Him into her house. She wanted Him to be in her life. However, we then see that she is distracted from Him. What distracts her? Serving Jesus. That does not sound like a busybody or a bad thing.
What Martha was doing was preparing a meal for Jesus and those who were following Him. Within this cultural context, hosting was a very big deal. Your reputation hinged on it. Hospitality was vital. And hello… she was hosting for Jesus! I think we would all be rushing to cook and clean better than we have ever done before.
Martha was not just “doing too much.” She was doing what needed to be done. Her problem was not simply that she had said “yes” to too much but that everything she had to do was too much.
Sound familiar? Work, school, friends, family, internship, job #2, alone time – it all seems like too much. It is not always as simple as “you are committing too much” or “wasting your time on other things.” Sometimes we can cut out all the unnecessary and still be overwhelmed by all that is necessary. Life is often needfully busy. The must-do’s must get done.
Martha the Under-estimater
And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
Since we now know that what Martha was doing was vital, it is only natural for her to get caught up in it. It has to get done. And she knew she could not do it alone. Mary had to help her do it.
We see in Martha’s statement that Mary had left her. This seems to imply that at one point they were serving together. When Jesus showed up, Mary, her help, left her. The one thing helping her get everything she had to do accomplished on time was taken away. What she had been hoping in had left.
So she marched over to Jesus to ask for His help. Send Mary back with her. Give her back what had been helping her get everything done. Give back her hourly planning, her finances, her intellect, her laptop, her car, her insert-whatever-you-rely-on-to-get-the-must-do’s-done here. How could He take it away? He had put her in an impossible situation. It is no wonder she snapped at Him.
Martha was aware that she needed help. She could not complete all this on her own. And that is often how we are. There is something in our busy lives that if taken away, we know it will all crumble. A car breaks down so we cannot get to work. Our laptop will not turn on so we cannot turn in that assignment. A loved one passes away so we are left dealing with life on our own. Or maybe it is simply reliance on our own ability to plan or stay motivated.
The problem is not that Martha– and we are– reliant on something. The problem is not even in Martha asking Jesus for her help. The problem was she – and often we too– was asking for too little.
God the Provider
A chapter earlier in Luke 9, Jesus feeds the five thousand. He takes five loaves and two fish and multiplies them to provide for those there to eat until they are satisfied (Luke 9:16-17). Could He not take what little food Martha had prepared and do the same? She was so distracted in what she had to do and how she was going to do it that she forgot what Jesus could do.
You can (and should) pray about giving up activities and responsibilities. But sometimes, you are in a busy season. Does this mean you are not like Martha then? You are not distracted, right?
Wrong. In all of her necessary responsibilities, Martha left no room for faith in the Provider but instead focused on how she could provide. She may have been doing all the right things but she was doing them in the wrong way. Obedience to what God has placed on our plates should be full of reliance on His grace. We need help. We need His help.
Mary showed faith that even if she did not see how it would get all done, the Creator of the Universe could do it. Mary chose to rely on Jesus to provide, not on her strength or another aid to get the must-dos done (Philippians 4:19). She chose to trust that Jesus would provide now and not grow distracted by anxiety and troubles (Matthew 6:31-33). She chose to sit at Jesus’ feet and let Him provide because He is the stable help who will never be taken away from her (Joshua 1:5).
For me, that is what I lost in planning hour-by-hour. When I completed my planning at the end of Sunday night, I could see how each priority was perfectly placed in my day. But because this plan relied on Caitlyn’s strength and Caitlyn’s wisdom, it often resulted in Caitlyn being anxious. As I ran around like Martha ignoring the One who always provides, I focused on the “I’ll never get this done” or “there’s not enough time.” Yet even when my focus was on my to-dos, all the important tasks got done. I assure you, it was not because of my planning. It was because the One who always provides in His grace and mercy provided for this undeserving, distracted, Martha-esque girl.
The call of this story is not to stop working or stop planning or stop saying “yes” to anything but twenty-four-seven Scripture reading and prayer. And it is certainly not telling us to give up hourly planning specifically (and I am not saying that either!). The call is to trust the One who always provides. Even when you do not see it, choose to, like Mary, bring your must-dos to Jesus’ feet. Let the One who provides provide strength, time, and ability to you. And even if the must-do’s still do not get done, trust He will still provide despite them. Because when you surrender your tasks, plans, time, wishes, and focus to Jesus, He provides something better than completing any of the most vital tasks: Himself. Trust the provider. He really is the good and better portion (Luke 10:42).
Overwhelmed 