Soaking at His Feet

At a church conference last month, I heard a helpful analogy about resting and soaking in God’s presence. The conference speaker said that we are like sponges. We rush around, doing things (good things, usually) and squeezing out the love, joy, and energy that we have. Eventually we realize that we’re drying up. In order to stay full, we have to do more than simply rush under the stream of God’s presence for a moment or two every now and then. Short dips under His water are enough to keep us going, but they’re not enough to soak our sponges to capacity. As we make it a priority to be still before Him and actively receive His love and attention (rather than knowing in the back of our minds that He loves us, but never slowing down long enough to feel the weight and effects of that knowledge) we find ourselves filled again so that our ministry and our lives are much more effective and enjoyable.

As this year comes to a close, with the hustle and bustle of Christmas finally past, do you feel like a dried up sponge? Have you given more than you’ve received from the Lord? If you have, it’s not because He wants that for you. Yes, we are told in James that faith without works is dead. And God does want you to participate in His Kingdom work. But without His presence, your work is in vain because it springs from your own smelly, dried-up sponge.

We have to cultivate a balance of restoration time in God’s presence and ministry time to our world. It’s easier to focus all of our energy and attention on one or the other – to be a full-time Mary or a full-time Martha. But I believe that there are times when it is necessary to be a Mary, and there are times when it is necessary to be a Martha. As another conference speaker mentioned last month at our meeting, thank God for Marthas. Marthas get things done. There are times when things just need to get done (perhaps when the entire family is due to show up at your house in two hours, and the turkey isn’t in the oven yet). But if we never make it a priority to stop and become a Mary – to linger at the feet of Jesus – we are missing out on so much that God has for us.

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

Note that Jesus didn’t say anything like, “Martha, you should learn from Mary and get over here instead of thinking about a silly thing like food. Who cares about dinner? Let’s just talk about God’s love all night!”

What He did say was that details, like dinner, were not worth being worried and upset over. Do them, of course, but don’t be concerned about anything other than hearing what Jesus is saying to you. When you discover that place at His feet and make it a priority to visit it often, the Lord will never ask you to put it aside in favor of doing things for Him. Instead, the lessons you learn at His feet will give you strength to complete the tasks at hand.

As we look toward a new year, let’s make it a priority to spend some time being Marys this year. Let’s allow Jesus to pour His love into us, so that our sponges become full and truly useful.

Lord, may we long for you as the night watchmen long for the morning. May we earnestly seek Your physical return, even as we daily seek Your nearness in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Thank You for giving us the privilege of sitting at Your feet and learning from what You have to say to us. May we learn to balance our time spent soaking in Your presence with our time spent serving You. May we have discernment to know when to be Marthas and when to be Marys in the year ahead. Amen.