Action!

The Lord is, indeed, not finished with us yet. The Holy Spirit is hard at work inside of us constantly, non-stop. Some of us, like me, still have a long way to go until we are able to experience total transformation. I often, still fall into my old ways and defaults…hence the need for forgiveness. That doesn’t mean, however, that the Lord doesn’t allow people like me… or like Martha… moments of immense clarity.

Let’s look at Martha again. As we have seen, Martha is a down-to-earth, practical, realistic woman who struggles with her priorities and with figuring out what is most important. It might be said of Martha that she is action-prone and word-focused rather than contemplative and spiritually-minded. That describes a lot of us, doesn’t it? I know it describes me in a lot of ways…

In her nature, however, our Lord chose Martha to reveal Himself in a most magnificent manner. Let’s look at this passage from John 11:

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” John 11: 20-27

There is so much in here, but let’s begin by dissecting verse 20:

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

I L O V E this passage. Our beloved Martha, springing into action as soon as she hears the Lord is near. That is a reflection of her personality. She can’t help it: “The Lord is here!? Let’s get walking!” If Martha is anything like me…which I think by now, I have discovered that we are pretty much kindred souls…there is no way she could just sit quietly and wait for Him to arrive. No way! Martha is all about action.  She’s gotta get moving! BTW, look at what Mary does...  :) 

You may say that reaction is impulsive, without much forethought…and you would be completely correct. It is a really weird combination of wanting to be in absolute control of all situations surrounding us, while at the same time acting in an arbitrary fashion…go figure…if you are confused, you are just getting a little glimpse of how I’ve felt all my life.

But anyway, the beauty of it all is that the Lord works in us in spite of and through whatever our nature might be like. He uses the essential elements of our being for His purposes, regardless of how conflicting those essential elements might seem. And that’s what we will be exploring in the next few posts, so stay tune!

Changing the Emotional Response Default

Changing one´s default is not easy…ask anyone who has ever tried to make a new healthy habit stick. Ask anyone who has ever tried to break an old, bad habit…

Anything from eating right, stop smoking, exercising more, drinking less to changing the way we react to our circumstances, becoming more eternity minded, increasing our faith, seeking Him first takes a great deal of effort to accomplish. It surely does not happen overnight. Of course, God is All-Powerful, so He can change us instantly if that is part of His plan. I’m a witness to that! He has removed the veil from my eyes in certain, very special occasions in order for me to see the truth at a moment when I was headed for a disastrous ending. In those occasions, God chose to reveal Himself to me to create a radical change in my life upon impact.

Most of the time, however, He has chosen to go the slow-and-steady route in me, to develop my character and to create a lasting change in my life through perseverance. He gives me, this way, the opportunity to guide my steps through every decision, through every mistake, through every victory. I imagine this is closer to the road that Martha had to walk.

Mostly, by our own doing, this is not a smooth road. It is a road marked by the obstacles and hurdles that our stubborn nature and our strong-will place on our way for us to have to jump over and evade. But it is a road of learning lessons that stick. It is a road of awareness. It is a road of intimacy. And it is so, because as we walk on it, we can’t help but to see and feel God’s hand holding ours through every step we take.

Travelling on a reduced-speed road, however, makes changes happen slowly. Therefore, my default reactions when facing challenges are still fret, fear and panic. I’m a work in progress, though. For as long as I can still draw breath, I believe God is not finished with me yet. He is still refining me as He transforms my heart and teaches me to trust and surrender:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3: 5-6

That is the ultimate key to seeking Him first. We seek Him because we trust Him. And as we trust Him, we surrender.

Like Martha, I’m still dealing with fret, fear and panic: “O no! What am I going to do? All these people?” (fret) “I can’t do this! What’s going to happen?” (fear) “I need help! Where’s my lazy sister? Lord! Make Mary help me!” (panic)

What if both, Martha and I were to react to the challenging situations of life with faith, forgiveness and prayer, instead: “Wow, lots of people coming in with the Lord today…phew! Good thing I’m not in charge here. You are on, Lord, You will provide!” (Faith) “Would you look at Mary? She sure was quick on finding herself a good sit by Jesus. Gotta love her.” (Forgiveness) “Please, Lord, may this house and whatever we so imperfectly offer to you and to your people be pleasing sacrifice, in your Name and for Your Glory.” (Prayer)

I want to keep an attitude of faith in every situation…an attitude that instead of making me fret, makes me trust. I want to be able to forgive, especially me, when at times I will fail at whatever it is I should do and don’t. I want to go to the Lord in prayer always…rather than go on a mad, panic-induced tail spin that depletes me of strength and drains my peace.

Above all, I want to change my emotional reactions to problems so I see the things that make me anxious as growth opportunities that would get me closer to Christ in an attitude of trust and surrender. It is not easy…but with God, nothing is impossible!

It Doesn´t Come Easily

Being able to make Mary’s choice does not come easily. To someone like me…a control-freak…to put it nicely…surrendering my time, my thoughts, my obligations, my work, my desires, my wants, my plans is a great challenge.

To tell you the truth, I look at Mary and I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I admire her and I wish I could be more like her. On the other hand, I am just as frustrated as Martha was with her. I think she is too care-fee; therefore, there must be something seriously wrong with her… Sometimes I think that there should be a happy medium. I have often thought that perfection falls in the middle, and that I should strive to be sort of like a Mary - Martha morph/blend.

In re-reading the passage, though, I realize that’s not what Jesus is suggesting at all. He is not saying: “Martha, you should be a bit more like Mary.” He is plainly saying that Mary’s got it right and that no amount of whining would merit anyone forcing her to get in the kitchen. He is pointing at Mary as the model of how we should be…not just a bit more like…but how we should be like, period!

Jesus is telling us of our need to surrender our will, our time, our all and seek Him first. And it is hard. It does not happen overnight.

Scripture tells us we need to be transformed, made new. But it also tells us that Jesus is the One who makes all things new, including us. I believe that means we cannot do it alone. Only the transforming power of Christ can do it in us. However, I also believe that it takes a willingness of heart from our part. We need to be willing to change…to be transformed…even if it means to have our world turned up-side-down.

I have a hard time with all of this because I am a very rigid person. I don’t really bend in the wind like a palm tree. I am more like one of those trees that when the storm comes they either break or get uprooted. My default is to fret, fear and panic. As a child of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I need to become aware of all those idiosyncrasies in my personality that make me lose sight of the Only Thing that is Needed while in the middle of a troubling circumstance. And while being aware, I need to pray that the Holy Spirit guides me into learning strategies that will help me change those default settings.

It’s like when I open my Internet browser in my laptop, as soon as I click on the Internet icon that connects me to the World Wide Web, I see a screen that has my default choices. How did those choices get in there? How did they become my default? By habit. Those are the sites that I habitually use every day, so the Internet already knows that and it puts them right there so as soon as I’m online, I have them in front of me. I don’t even have to think…just click.

It is the same way with my emotions. They become my default because of the force of habit. That’s what I always do or feel. Most people have different default emotions depending on the circumstance. I sort of don’t. I have the same default emotions for all circumstances: fret, fear and panic.

How would I change my default screen in my Internet Browser? By changing my choices…by changing my habits. I’m going to extrapolate that thought into my default feelings and say that it works the same way in this area too.

It doesn’t happen overnight, though. In order to create a habit, we have to practice it many times in a row over a significant amount of time. That’s exactly what I need to do if I am ever to change my default emotions: practice a new habit for a prolong period of time.

Why am I talking about all these? Because making the choice of seeking Christ’s presence first should be my default anytime that I am faced with the need to choose between my will and God’s will. I’m talking about this because I need to pray that I learn to be like Mary: Let the world wait while I sit at the feet of My Lord!

What Does It Take to Make Mary's Choice?

Sigh…

In my imaginary visit to Martha and Mary’s house, I sit on the floor, staring at the rows of guests in front of me. I wrapped my arms around my knees as I survey the crowd. Nobody seems to have noticed what went on between the Lord and Martha. They all continue with their merry conversations, enjoying the refreshments that Martha is diligently providing. Then, my eyes fall on Mary…she doesn’t notice the trays of goodies that pass by her. She doesn’t notice the crowds. Of course, she doesn’t notice her sister’s frustration. She probably never noticed Martha complaining to Jesus about her. She made her choice to focus on only ONE thing at this moment. Her choice implies that the rest of the world can simply wait as she seeks the face of Christ…

The question that remains for me is: How does one make that choice?

The answer is simple, but extremely complicated: It takes the surrendering of the will.

Our wills have been at war with God’s since Adam and Eve. This war continues in our lives for as long as we walk on this earth. Ever since we are born, we want to do things our way, and that’s not about to change any time soon. It is a totally insane war, however, since there is no way we can win it unless we surrender.

Dissatisfaction, worry, frustration, fear and all those feelings of wanting and lacking are the daily battles we all fight as part of this war…we struggle and struggle until we have no strength left, and still get nowhere. We don’t understand why we search and search without ever finding what we are looking for.

I am guilty of all of that, and the main reason that my searching remains fruitless is because I lose track of what I truly need to seek. The only thing that will fill the whole in my soul is the One who created my soul. It is not until I start seeking Him with all my heart that I will finally find Him and feel the peace that passes all understanding covering me, making me truly free.

It’s like I read in my devotional: “When lesser goals capture your attention I fade into the background of your life. I am still there, watching and waiting, but you function as if you were alone. Actually, My Light shines on every situation you will ever face. Live radiantly by expanding your focus to include Me in all your moments. Let nothing dampen your search for Me.” (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young)

May the Holy Spirit grant us the ability to discern the need to seek Christ and the absolute necessity to surrender to God’s will with all our hearts so we can make the choice to put the whole world on hold as we sit by the feet of Our Lord.

Scriptures to review:  Psalm 27: 8; Philippians 4: 7; Jeremiah 29: 13

It Will NOT Be Taken Away

From my corner of the room, where I’ve been witnessing the exchange between Martha and the Lord, I just saw and heard Jesus stating a truth that I want to hang on to for the rest of my days on this earth: “…and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10: 42b
No matter what may happen…I can endure it all if I stick by the feet of Christ.

That’s my job. That’s the only thing that matters. And once I’m there, nothing…no force from this world or the next could pull me away from His presence.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 38-39

Surrendering to Him means that we get to stay with Him. And that is exactly what I want. Let’s just spend a moment still...taking comfort on these words…allowing this truth to sink in…

“…and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10: 42b

Praised be His Holy Name!

Redeeming the Times

Let’s consider Christ’s words to Martha one more time:

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10: 41-42

Jesus is definitively talking to Martha about choices. He is saying something like: you can choose to be worried and upset about the useless stuff of this world or you can choose to spend your time dwelling in the presence of the Lord. Look at your sister Mary. Even though you think she is a lazy bum, she has actually chosen wisely…and no temper tantrum or hissy fit from you would cause her to lose what she has rightfully chosen.

In other words, Martha, quit wasting your time and come with me!

Time is indeed the most precious possession we have in this world. It is finite. And here, in this passage, Jesus is calling us to redeem it!

Last night I was watching an old video Dan found, who knows where, and it was of Grant when he was about three and a half years old. Gosh…I could not hold back my tears as I watched that little angel walking around and talking with the sweetest voice I’ve ever heard. There was a moment in the video when I appear there, playing with him and eventually scooping him off the floor to cradle him, squeeze him and cover him with kisses. His little feet dangling in the air as we giggled…man, was that hard to watch.

My soul and heart became overflowing with a love so tender and intense I couldn’t stand it. Then, I looked at my son and realized that the tall, gangly, awkward teen standing behind me doesn’t have much left in him of that little cutie pie I held in my arms all those many years ago. Time has gone by so very quickly. It’s too much to bear. The only thing that keeps me sane is the thought and the prayer that I gave that boy my all. I don’t have any regrets because I believe that I redeemed my time with him when he was little and I trust that the Holy Spirit will give me the clarity to continue to give him my all for as long as I live…

It's the same with the Lord…I don’t want to have any regrets. I want to give Him my all, because He IS my all. He is the King of who I am. In the busyness of life, I don’t want to, one day, be watching the video of my history in this world and find out I wasted my time worrying and being upset about things that didn’t matter or that I couldn’t change…while Jesus was there, in the next room, waiting for me to hang out with Him.

Life is hard enough as it is…I pray the Holy Spirit helps us make it lighter by taken away the unnecessarily heavy burdens our minds trick us into carrying.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11: 28-30

The Choice

Let’s consider Jesus’ words to Martha again, especially, the last part of Luke 42: “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” This is Jesus’ not so subtle, firm but at the same time, compassionate way of telling Martha that she needs to rethink her choices. “Mary has chosen well…how about you, Martha?”

In my mind, I imagine this scene wrapping up with Jesus’ hand slipping off Martha’s shoulder, the intensity of His eyes piercing through her soul, as He slowly turns and walks away back to his seat…leaving Martha standing there, tray of food still in her hands… dumbfounded…confused…quietly pondering the Lord’s words.

Jesus doesn’t force the issue…

He doesn’t directly tell her what to do. He does not command her to do anything. However, it is clear. Martha can’t deny what’s going on…the only thing she can do now is to make a choice.

She can continue her frantic pace, in pursuit of what she considers noble works that reveal a deeply misguided emphasis on the things of this world. Or, on the other hand, she can drop it all and seek His presence…letting Him take care of all the details…letting Him take care of all the rest.

I don’t know what she does… I can only speculate. My guess is that, being the practical woman that she is, Martha probably continued with the preparations to make sure all got done…being the Jesus follower I know she is, Martha was not the same. She might have made sure everything was in place to take care of the guests, but if Martha and I are as alike as I think we are, my guess is also that she was troubled by what Jesus said to her…something in her heart began to change.

I believe that as Martha went on with the chores, she could not stop thinking about the choice she had to make. She understood she was at a crossroads and that soon she would have to make a decision that would change the way she does things. I’m a slow-learner. Therefore, I’ve been at that same spot many times. I have been so concerned and so afraid by the waves and the winds of the storm that I have lost sight of the Only One Who matters, the Lord of the Storm. I hang on to the tasks and forget that I need to surrender all tasks to Him, for He owns the design of the plan that included such tasks, and that it is only by His power that I would ever accomplish any of their details.

There is still a lot of surrendering that needs to happen within my heart. And if Martha is anything like me, I would guess that she still needs at least another face to face encounter with Jesus in order to learn the lesson of surrendering in a way that when the time comes again, she and I would make the right choice.