That One Thing

You know the feeling – when you are exhausted, everything seems out of control, you are overwhelmed by the decisions that need to be made, and you just can’t seem to get ahead.  The feeling of burnout, depression, fear, or exhaustion.  A few weeks ago, I found myself in that unhealthy place.

Sitting… staring… stuck.

In these moments when I need God the most, He seems far away, unreachable, out of touch.  But maybe, just maybe, I am the one who has moved away.  And when I am really honest, I know it is me who has created the distance.  I have drifted and lost focus. Life is happening and I am reacting, moving from thing to thing, serving God but not seeking Him.  Missing that one thing that is the most important – listening to Jesus and being in His presence.

That is why I relate so well to the story of Mary and Martha, two women who loved Jesus and who Jesus considered His friends.  Martha was a leader, and she eagerly opened her house to Jesus.  She was quick to take on the task of caring for Jesus and his disciples.  But as she is running around and making preparations, she is distracted from the fact Jesus is in her house.  Mary on the other hand has a single focus, to learn from Jesus.  She seats herself at His feet and is listening to every word.  Martha is shocked that her sister can just sit there when there is so much to be done and approaches Jesus, hoping He will tell Mary that she needs to jump in and do her part.  But Martha is in for a surprise.  Instead of Jesus telling Mary to help Martha, Jesus gently rebukes Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken from her.”

Mary knew that only one thing mattered – listening to Jesus.  When Jesus was present, nothing else mattered to Mary.  Martha however, in her eagerness to serve Jesus, missed the opportunity to enjoy being with Him.  And how often we do the same!  We get consumed by all the tasks and challenges life presents.  And this can be a lot of really good things!  But if in the midst of all that we are doing, if we don’t enjoy Jesus, we miss that one thing.

In the book of Psalms, David talks about asking for one thing from God – to dwell in His presence and behold His beauty.  When I think of people who are focused on God’s presence, I think back to a woman who modeled this for me.  I meet her in Cuba.  We visited her home to encourage her, but in reality, she was the one who encouraged me.  As we came up the sidewalk, you could hear her voice calling out to God.  We entered her home, and her worship to God continued.  Instead of stopping to visit with us, she invited us to join her in God’s presence. She spoke of God’s goodness, cried out to Him, and exhorted us.  Her name was Gardenia.  In some sense, Gardenia was a simple woman, not beautiful by the world’s standards, but to me she was one of the loveliest women I have ever meet.  Her worship of God was pure and undistracted.  She was a beautiful flower, reflecting the glory of God.  And like Mary, she challenged me to know God more.

Recently, in my place of exhaustion, God met me.  He reminded me I need to do the one thing.  And that one thing, changes everything.  And that one thing, is not a onetime thing, but a constant.  Because God is present and He invites us, just like Mary and my friend Gardenia, into the transforming place of His presence.  And that one thing is the only thing that really matters.

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“Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word.  But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came to Him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’  But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered by so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.'”

Luke 10:38-42 NASB

“One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall 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 meditate in His temple.”

Psalm 27:4 NASB