We don’t have to spin, teeter, and collapse our way through the holidays. But we must have that intimate time with Jesus.
I took one step away from my desk when nerve pain shot down my leg. My laptop began slipping from my hand. I couldn’t hold it, nor could I prevent the fall I was about to take. Everything played out in slow motion as I began falling backward.
“No, not my back!” What will happen to my already injured back?
I lay on the carpet for several minutes, making sure I could still move. I tried to find something nearby that I could use to pull myself up with, but I couldn’t find anything. What a horrible time to have left my phone in the bedroom.
I took a chance on Alexa. You all know Alexa, right? Google’s little device that responds to verbal commands. Could she hear me in the other room?
In my loudest but clearest voice, I yelled. “Alexa, call Timmy.”
My hopes soared when she made the call. My husband answered the phone as I screamed, “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.” He heard enough to know he needed to come home and help me get up off the floor.
I lost my balance that day due to sciatica and possibly some meds for nerve pain. Thank God, nothing harmful happened.
Balance is vital. We need to have balance, or we fall. We are told to eat a balanced diet. We balance our checkbooks. But do we balance busy?
Do we balance our time, or do we create a to-do list that is impossible to accomplish? Now, we have the busiest time of the year approaching.
Some call Christmas the happiest time of the year, but how can we have peace on earth and goodwill toward men when we don’t balance the busyness of Christmas? Wouldn’t you like to have peace this Christmas rather than panic?
Here’s the secret: we can’t sit with Jesus while we serve Jesus. Let me explain.
Two Sisters
Let’s look at two sisters, Mary and Martha. Jesus arrived in town, and Martha invited Him to dinner. It wasn’t Christmas, of course, but any day that Jesus visits is like Christmas. Jesus traveled with His twelve disciples, so Martha took on a huge endeavor to prepare a meal for all of them.
Have you ever done that? Notice Martha’s reason for inviting Jesus to dine in her home, which she shared with her sister Mary and her brother, Lazarus.
Martha invited Jesus to serve Him, not to sit with Him.
During the Christmas season, do you hurry with prayers because there’s just so much to do? Does your Bible remain closed for a few days because of a lack of time? That is called distraction, and wouldn’t you agree that we get distracted at Christmas?
That’s what happened to Martha.
Meanwhile, she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. (Luke 10:39 NIV)
So, Mary is sitting while Martha is serving. Mary is hearing His Word, but Martha was distracted, and for a good reason, she wanted to give Jesus her best.
Distraction
Let’s look at the word distraction. It gives the idea of dragging around. Can you picture Martha fussing about details that were unnecessary and elaborate?
Does that sound familiar? Do we sometimes go overboard? Distractions are the work of the enemy, and what does he want to distract us from? Our Bibles and prayer. Why? Because they are our spiritual lifeline.
The devil doesn’t hate Christmas. In fact, he might love it because it’s the time of the year we all get distracted, shopping, sending Christmas cards, attending dinners, wrapping gifts, and decorating.
Distraction has a negative connotation. For my guide dog, Iva, a distraction can be dangerous for me. I depend on her to navigate our paths safely. That actually happened to me while staying at a hotel. Iva saw some kittens hanging out by a trashcan, and she forgot to stop for a step. When I fell onto the sidewalk, Iva soon realized her mistake.
Instead of allowing distractions to interfere with our Christmas celebration, let’s focus on what is most important. Not the elaborate meals and decorations, but time with our families and time spent worshipping Jesus.
When I’m busy, my focus isn’t Jesus. It’s what sets before me, so when I recognize distraction, I have to change my focus. Did I pray that morning before beginning my busy day? Focus reminds me to stop everything and pray.
Deception
Another trick of the enemy is deception. Martha’s distraction left her frustrated. She believed Jesus didn’t care about all her hard work in the kitchen alone. She believed He didn’t care that Mary sat at His feet listening intently instead of helping Martha.
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came 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 NIV)
I can relate to Martha. What about you? After a day filled with computer and website problems, I declared, “I quit! Jesus, don’t You care?” He has called me to write, but why doesn’t He make technology easy for me?
Have you ever felt like that, especially when you’re left in the kitchen preparing a meal while all your people have gathered around the TV to watch football? Instead of falling for the enemy’s lies, we must believe the truth. Your family cares, and Jesus cares also.
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)
Dissension
What happens when we don’t stop at the distractions and the deception? We move on to dissension. Martha wanted to shame Mary for not helping her. She hoped Jesus would rebuke Mary for sitting instead of serving. How often do we get frustrated, have our pity party thinking no one cares, and then we open our mouths, and something unkind comes out? Then we make the devil happy because we have started a family feud.
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12 NIV)
We see the fruit of the problem. We are doing all the work alone, but we must address the root of the problem in prayer. Our troubles arise from demonic activity, not our family.
Martha received a shock when Jesus answered her:
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “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 NIV)
Did Martha ever learn her lesson? We see her serving again at another dinner when Mary anointed the feet of Jesus. But Martha was not complaining this time. I think Martha learned she could not sit with Jesus while serving Jesus. Perhaps she got her quiet time in earlier. Whatever the case, it seemed that Martha was no longer spinning out of control.
Did you have a spinning top as a childhood toy? You’d pump that thing up and watch it go until it ran out of energy and collapsed on its side. I thought of that top as I almost took another fall. I began teetering, but I grabbed onto a bookshelf as I stood, trying to stabilize myself. My grip on that bookshelf stabilized me.
Friends, Jesus stabilizes us. He offers us balance in our busy lives. We don’t have to spin, teeter, and collapse our way through the holidays. But we must have that intimate time with Jesus.
Christmas is busy, and when we don’t balance busy, we teeter and collapse. Choose the better part, like Mary, which will never be taken away.
Instead of distraction, we focus. Instead of deception, we choose truth. Instead of dissension, we choose love. I challenge you today to set up a specific quiet time with Jesus. Set the time and place. If you already have one, extend it by five minutes. The busiest days need more time with Jesus, not less. Make a point to sit with Jesus before you serve Jesus.
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