Sitting at His Feet

Every Friday, my coworkers and I go around the room asking each other what our weekend plans are. One of them would usually say they are going fishing, and another would say they’re going to work on their garden. When it’s my turn to answer, no one is surprised when I say that I am spending most of my weekend volunteering or leading various ministries and events at my church.

I absolutely love serving at my church and in my community. I know it is what God has called me to do. I also enjoy staying busy in general. However, there was a time this past year where I found myself feeling overwhelmed by how busy my schedule could be. It got to the point where I wouldn’t be spending as much time in my personal devotion with the Lord than I should have been. There were even some days where I would feel so tired after coming home from serving, I would go straight to bed and not take time to pray or read the Bible. The time I spent serving Jesus was starting to outweigh the amount of time I would spend with Him.

In Luke 10:38-42, we find a story that is quite similar to this type of situation. Jesus was passing by a village, where a woman named Martha invited Him over to her house. First off, can you imagine inviting JESUS to your house? The Son of God? The One who has been performing miracles left and right? The One who came to save me from the cost of my sins? I would be freaking out! Just as any of us would, she began to work on different tasks to make her home more hospitable to Him.

While Martha attended to those tasks, her sister, Mary, sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to Him speak. Martha was too distracted by the preparations that had to be done, she didn’t even see what she was missing. She may have been so focused on cleaning and having food made, she did not set aside time to actually sit and listen to Him.

I am guilty of following what Martha did here. As the Bible states that she was distracted with serving, I recognized that I had also become distracted by doing so. I allowed myself to be so consumed in what I can do for Jesus, I didn’t take time out of my day to truly just be in His presence and hear from Him. When my personal time with Him started to lessen, I noticed that my anxiety and worries would increase. Instead of giving my burdens to Jesus, I was holding on to them without realizing, which affected the way I served.

Seeing that Mary was sitting by Jesus rather than helping with the preparations, Martha went up to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (Luke 10:40).

When Martha complained about this to Jesus, He replied, “Martha, Martha, 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).

There is nothing wrong with serving the Lord; He wants us to honor Him and be vessels for His Kingdom. That being said, He does not want you to overwork yourself to where you are serving Him more than spending time directly with Him. Jesus told Martha that really one thing is needed, which is to sit at His feet, just as Mary did. He would rather have you sit and listen to His Word than you trying to serve Him with no growth in your relationship.

Your personal time with God should always come first before serving. How you serve should be an outpour of how your walk with Him is. By having a flourishing relationship with Christ, the way you serve will be fruitful. When I realized this, the way that I served changed. I was able to lay down my burdens and serve by surrendering and growing closer to Him. My prayer has become that my devotion with the Lord would be reflected in the way that I serve.

Whether you are working, a full-time student, and/or involved with serving at your church, be sure to set aside time to spend alone with God each day. More than anything, He wants you to sit at His feet and grow closer to Him.

Love,

Allisa, a woman of worth