My friend Cha-Lisa threw away her to-do list— for good. During the weeks leading up to her decision, she and I had talked about feeling trapped by the never-ending inventory of tasks. Cha-Lisa said, “Get one thing done, and two more things pop up in its place.” I told her, “I feel guilty when I can’t finish everything.” We concurred that we were enslaved to those pesky, ink-smudged slips of paper populated with “Things To Do.”
When Martha invited Jesus over for dinner, her task list got the best of her. Sweeping the floor, setting the table, tossing the salad, and warming the bread—Martha ignored Jesus until after she was totally overwhelmed. When she couldn’t cope for one more second, she mouthed off: “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” (Luke 10:40).
I wonder how many seconds of silence followed her demand. I picture Jesus calmly prying a wooden spoon out of Martha’s hands as His gentle answer deflected her anger (Proverbs 15:1). He said, “You are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it” (Luke 10:41-42). Martha’s sis had been sitting at Jesus’ feet, soaking in His teaching. She had successfully trashed her “to-do” list to make time for Christ.
Today, is your spirit suffering because of busyness? Like Martha, do you look at less busy people and feel the need to finger-point? Has your prayer life become a string of 10-second pleas for help in moments of crisis? If so, remember that “all our busy rushing ends in nothing” (Psalm 39:6).
Ask Jesus to help you balance your responsibilities, and take time to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Joshua 7:1-26
More:
Read Haggai 1:9 to see how mixed-up priorities interfered with the rebuilding of God’s temple. Read Psalm 91:1-2 to see how God can help us when we feel overwhelmed.
Next:
How can you make more time for Jesus in your daily schedule? What spiritual qualities can God give us to help us with life’s responsibilities?
nivla on March 3, 2012 at 9:50 am
I am so in distress now. Got to do SO MANY THINGS. I even come to a point of questioning my competence “Can I really make it?”
Thanks Jen for pointing me to Jesus. He is able, I need to be still for He’s my God anyway. 🙂 I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.
jennifer benson schuldt on March 3, 2012 at 3:47 pm
nivla,
A phrase from your comment has been bouncing around in my head…”He’s my God anyway”. It’s the word “anyway” that I love. Despite the times when life moves at supersonic speed, despite the number of items on our “to-do” lists, despite all that we fail to accomplish at the end of the day. (In my case, that last point refers to the pile of laundry in the hallway, the slow cooker that needs to be scoured, and the toys that litter our living room.) He’s our God anyway. He still loves us. He still wants to hear from us. And most of all, we still need HIM!
Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts. I hope that you will have some time to spend with Him today. He really can help us when we feel overwhelmed.
“May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord” (2 Pet 1:2).
nivla on March 4, 2012 at 8:44 am
Amen.. Thanks Jen. Godbless you!
GChoo on March 3, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Jennifer, thanks for your reminder. Life can sometimes be overwhelming. Busyness (includes doing God’s work) is one aspect and it can unknowingly or knowingly gives us reason for not spending time with God. Knowing why we need to spend time with God and reminding ourselves how to priorities is important. We are so human we forget.
About 2 weeks ago, my parked car was hit on the back by a motorist who left a note for me to contact about the accident. The person took his own sweet time to respond. I had been patient and calm before but his slow response has made me anxious about his sincerity to pay for the repair. At the same time, there were work and other important matters needed attention. I was really overwhelmed by the sudden surge of things needed done. I am just grateful that i continued to spend time with God, and prayed for wisdom and discernment to deal with those matters. I feel at peace even my car is yet to be repaired but a date has been fixed. God somehow provided me the wisdom to deal with it and the rest of the other matters.
We are so blessed to have a Great & Faithful God who is always there for us. Only thing is we need to remind ourselves to spend proper time (not left over nor no time) with Him daily.
jennifer benson schuldt on March 3, 2012 at 3:36 pm
So sorry to hear about your car accident. I hope that situation works out in a timely manner. I pray that God will work in that situation to give you patience, wisdom, and grace at just the right moments.
It is hard to keep God first when commitments crowd out peace and rest. When I get really busy, I experience what I like to call the “deli counter” syndrome. I feel like I’m behind the counter running around frantically trying to take everyone’s order and get everything right. I too get overwhelmed when I don’t start the day out reading the Bible and praying–for no other reason than just to walk with God. It’s so simple. Yet, a busy schedule tempts me to “just do this one thing…” before putting God first. Like you said, He should have first dibs on our time, not “the leftovers”… 🙂
caring1 on March 3, 2012 at 5:27 pm
When I find myself thinking of doing other things before my time with God, I picture Jesus standing patiently by my side waiting. Then it’s very hard to think of ignoring him while I do my own thing.
nivla on March 4, 2012 at 8:41 am
wow!! I loved the picture… yes, indeed that’s practically how it goes whenever we do our stuff first before our quiettime with Him.
jennifer benson schuldt on March 5, 2012 at 10:53 am
caring1,
Thank you for the comment about how Jesus is waiting to talk with us. When I read what you wrote, it made me think about how patient Jesus is with us. And, that made me think about how being busy can rob us of that quality with others.
An aspect of Christ-likeness is to have “people patience” even when our days are filled with appointments, work, and obligations. 🙂
pri1465 on March 3, 2012 at 9:04 pm
Caring1, Thank you for the picture of Jesus Patiently waiting now it will be difficult to rush when I know He is patiently waiting.
I too find that however, rushed I am if I do my morning devotions I can cope with the day however busy it is. But if I fail to take time for prayer before I start my work, I am rushed and stressed out. Thank you for this message Jennifer
deb9237 on March 3, 2012 at 10:24 pm
your post really hit me hard on the head…i just finished making my to do list before i went on line and bamm! i remembered that i’m supposed to give God what is right and not what is left…but what happened in my list is that the time i set aside for Him is the time left from all those errands and things to do for the day–i would be very tired to talk to Him by that time, don’t you think? thank you very much for the reminder, i’m convicted and i need to re-organize/re-prioritize. God bless.
jennifer benson schuldt on March 5, 2012 at 11:02 am
deb9237,
Thanks for taking a moment to log in and reply! I struggle with exactly what you mentioned. I find that there are days when I dive right into the errands, and I tell myself that I will read the Bible and pray, but that I’ll do it later.
The day passes, and before I know it, I’m ready to collapse into bed. I find that unless I spend time with God first thing in the morning, it may not happen. I like what David wrote in Psalm 5:3!
daisymarygoldr on March 4, 2012 at 9:54 am
It is not possible to do away with the to-do list especially if we are juggling the duties of wife, mother, and bread winner. We must make sure not to allow the “to-do” list distract us from pursuing our personal relationship with Christ. To balance, when we give Jesus the first place in our lives, everything else will fall in its proper place. This will keep us from running around like Martha. Instead it will find us blissfully resting in the Lord.
The application for Church is: When we are running around building ministries, planning programs in our own strength, like Martha we will soon get overwhelmed with much activity. It will only result in burnout, blaming others and much bitterness. And all our frantic endeavors and efforts will also not be commended by Christ.
It is important to remain in His presence and exercise our spiritual gifts empowered by the Holy Spirit. Mary chose the good part to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His Words. People do not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Later on Mary was also able to do a good work by anointing the feet of Jesus in preparation for His burial. Abiding in Christ will produce good works according to His will for the Kingdom of God. David said it best:
“One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.” (Psalms 27:4)
Thanks Jennifer and all for the reminder to choose the one thing that is needful for all eternity!
jennifer benson schuldt on March 5, 2012 at 11:08 am
daisymarygoldr,
I liked what you said here: “It is important to remain in His presence and exercise our spiritual gifts empowered by the Holy Spirit.” Abiding in Him helps us to keep our heads above the water–so to speak. As “the branches”, we can do nothing apart from “The Vine” (John 15:4). Our strength is small, but His is great.
Thank you for posting!
winn collier on March 5, 2012 at 11:49 am
One of my lenten practices has been to carve out 15 minutes of silence during the day. I haven’t made it everyday, but my soul craves this space. Thanks for the good word.
jennifer benson schuldt on March 6, 2012 at 3:30 pm
What an excellent idea! I think silence is way underrated these days…