“But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41).
Religious life is full of sounds and screams. When someone enters the temple of Jerusalem he hears the sounds of animals and birds which are kept for sacrifice. Then there are money sellers who scream to get better business. In the midst of the ‘noises’ he can’t hear ‘the voice’ which will only be heard by concentration. “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:14).
Nobody can concentrate when there are ‘many.’ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things” (Luke 10:41). Mary heard the voice of the Master but Martha heard noises, because she had many things.
Many are the root causes of worries. And worry is the mother of many. Unless the root is cut down, the fruit will continue bearing. Why do we need more? It’s because of our previous worries. The interplay of ‘worry’ and ‘many’ will not end, unless, we find the right solution and do it. The healing is only at the feet of the Master. Sit at His feet, look at His face, and hear from Him.
The new life in Christ is not a pre-determined life. We do not know about tomorrow. We do know only our Master who knows tomorrow. That is why Bible strictly prohibits worries. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25). Martha’s worry was something related with ministry. “But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me” (Luke 10:40). Worry in relation to ministry is a trap of the Enemy. God never want a Minister to be worried but burdened. Worry is the product of the self and burden is the product of the Spirit. When a Minister is in a worry, he will do many things from the self. He will look up to the earthly sources to solve his worries. But a burdened Minister will look to heaven. “As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4). Then he will work with the source and energy of heaven.
Martha’s worry led her to be angry with Mary as well as with the Master. “My sister has left me to serve alone?” and “Lord, do you not care?” These questions are the sole results of worries. Our worries will affect our sight. We may misunderstand a friend as the enemy who is the cause of our worries. David was the enemy in the imagination of Saul. He was worried about his throne: “And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” (1 Samuel 18:8).
We can see in Martha an underlying desire for recognition. She brings the attention of the Master to her work. Now she is the entrepreneur of the ministry which she is doing and so she has the authority to tell the Master how things should go. This is a dangerous pit in which many of the Lord’s servants have fallen. In the beginning, they knew very well that God is the owner of the harvest. “He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Luke 10:2-3). They were mere servants who were working for the Lord and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God tells them and they carry it out – this was the functioning method.
If God does not tell them, they just wait. They do not know how to do the ministry. So they were not worried. But they were burdened! “Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes” (Daniel 9:3).
Now things have turned upside down. Later, when they will fall into the trap of the enemy, they end up in worries. Then the rest of the ministry will be for finding the solution to those worries. Now it is a ‘worry-oriented ministry.’ Prayer and fasting will be for getting solutions to the worries and meditation (in this stage there is no meditation – only reading) will be a time for frantic searching of the scriptures for solutions.
Trying to solve the worries will lead to further worries. Now they are pregnant with worries. The enemy is gleeful that he could stop their devotional life: a routine morning and evening prayer with answering all the phone calls, Bible reading to prepare messages, monthly fasting prayer is to mention in the report. Is it not time to take a step? Otherwise we will end up in such a pathetic condition. “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3). Are the regular guests, meetings, other needs hindering you from being with the Lord? If so what about them for you to be at the hospital if your child is in a critical stage?
“Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness” (Jeremiah 13:16).