Ever felt like you were the one in the picture above? Ever felt just worn out? Not only physically; but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually? I have. More than I’d like to admit.
Life can be crazy sometimes. We all have our own list of things we’re trying to juggle. Family, work, school, friends, meetings, projects, church, volunteering, keeping up with housework and bills, outings, and still trying to find quiet time with God somewhere in the midst of all of that. Just writing that makes me wish I had ten arms! Ha.
Lately, I have found myself so busy that I’ve been skimping on my God time and feeling soo overwhelmed. When I examined the things that were consuming my time and attention…they weren’t bad things. In fact, they were all good things. Outside of work and school, most of my time was spent either working on volunteer projects in my community, trying to mentor my girls, volunteering in various ministries at my church, or trying to get things ready for this Race.
But with all of these “good” things, I was always on the go, go, go. Constantly busy. Which, don’t get me wrong- being really involved is NOT a bad thing at all. It’s a great thing. But. You have to have balance. And that’s something I’m finding myself lacking.
When I came to God about this situation, He showed me two passages in His Word that found me right where I was. The first one is only 5 verses long, but packed full of lessons.
Luke 10:38-42 NKJV
Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha [overly occupied and too busy*] was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
*Insert from AMP
Notice that Martha wasn’t busy with little, petty, meaningless things. She was distracted with much “serving.” Serving = Good. Right? Of course. Then what was wrong with what Martha was doing? She was doing it for Jesus anyway. That’s important! Well, nothing was wrong with “what” Martha was doing. There was something wrong with the “order” she was doing it in.
Martha was saying, “Lord, just wait a few minutes. I need to do this stuff for you first, and once it’s done, then I’ll spend time with you.”
But Jesus knew two things that Martha seemed to forget. 1) The work never ends. 2) There is only one thing we need, and that is Him.
It’s is not that these things weren't important and didn’t need to be done. Jesus needed to eat and her house needed to be cleaned. But. Jesus was saying, “Time with Me first. Serving second.” Not the other way around. God is to be first in everything we do, even when what we’re doing is for Him.
How many times, like Martha, have we felt God calling us to spend time with Him and told him, “Hold on just a minute…I have to do something first”?
When I read this, I felt God saying to me-
"Baby girl, don’t get so busy doing stuff for Me that you forget Me. What is the point of doing all of these things for Me if it’s makes you too busy to even talk to Me? That doesn't glorify Me. A servant’s heart comes out of knowing My heart, but without knowing My heart, you are just laboring. I want your heart, not your works.”
The picture that popped in my head that resembled this thought was the illustration for emergency oxygen masks we see on airplanes. If you’ve ever flown, you know what I’m talking about.
::Insert Flight Attendant's voice:: “In case of an emergency, oxygen masks will drop from the compartment above your head. Make sure you put on your mask FIRST, before you help anyone else. Again, put your mask on BEFORE you help anyone else.”
What?! That seems totally backwards, we’re supposed to help others first!
But in this case, we can’t. We could try, but in the matter of a few minutes we would pass out, becoming useless to help anyone else, and…potentially die.
God is like our oxygen mask. We think we might have more time to help people if we focus on them first and strap on our own mask later, but sooner than later we’ll run out of the oxygen we had in our lungs and pass out. In the end, not only are the people around us hindered, but we are hurt too. All of those people we’re trying to help…they NEED us to strap on our oxygen first.
We have to stay connected to God. He’s our oxygen. Our life line.
Maybe you’re reading this and you’re saying, “Ah…I know what she’s talking about.” Maybe you’ve been a Martha, too. Is your heart feeling tired and overwhelmed? Have you been distracted and caught up in the business of life?
If so, don’t be discouraged- there is hope for us yet! Let me share with you the second verse God showed me.
Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
I also love how the Message puts it-
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
How often do we labor? All the time. How often does this lead us to feel heavy laden and burned out? All the time. So how often should we come to Jesus? ALL THE TIME. He doesn’t just give us rest for our bodies, He gives us true rest and peace for our souls! Do you need strength for today? Wisdom for your next step? Peace in the situation you’re in? Weight lifted off of your shoulders? Then don’t wait one more second to get away with God. Your Daddy is waiting for you! He wants to spend time with you! He wants your heart! He wants to give you rest! He wants you to be free and your burden to be light!
God = First. Everything Else = Second. Oxygen Mask = ON.
