At Abide Ministries, we frequently make the guarantee that God can restore your life. The natural question which follows is: “How can you guarantee anything?” We can guarantee because God promises to restore you in scripture. But there’s a condition: you have to have a heart to seek Him and to abide with Him. If you have a heart for God and you seek His will and His work in your life, then yes, your life will absolutely be restored.
But what does it mean to have a heart for God? Let’s dive in…
Mary & Martha
Luke 10:38-42
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 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.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Jesus spent the majority of his ministry in Galilee, but He would make the 3-4 day walk to Jerusalem around 6 times each year for the Jewish feasts. Mary and Martha lived in Bethany, which was outside Jerusalem, and by the time that this story takes place, they had gotten to know Jesus, and they knew (with their limited perspective) that He was the Son of God, and they loved spending time with Him. In this story, Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem and He sends His disciples on while He stays with Mary and Martha for a time.
While Jesus was with them, Martha was working hard to serve Him. She was cooking and cleaning and doing all kinds of activities, and if we asked her, Martha would have said that she was serving and honoring the Lord. Her heart was so focused on doing these things for Jesus, and she believed it was so critical that she do them, that she became frustrated with Mary for not doing the same. She tells Mary to get up and help her, but Mary decides to stay where she is. Martha then asks Jesus to tell Mary to get up and help her, expecting that Jesus would recognize the work she was doing and the importance of it. But Jesus had a different response. He says, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things…” Jesus points out that Martha is distracted with all her serving and not only is it making her anxious, but it’s also causing her to miss what is actually important. Martha had decided for herself what was important and what she thought would serve the Lord. Furthermore, she believed that she would get recognition for all the tasks that she was doing. She truly believed that what she was doing was greater than what Mary was doing. But Jesus said she’d made a mistake. She decided on her own what she should be doing, rather than asking Jesus what she should do.
Bible Study vs. Abiding: sitting at the feet of Jesus.
As a Christians in our modern day culture, we are often prone to approach Bible study the same way. We decide to read through the Bible in a year, or read a devotion each day, or study a specific book. We choose something and say “Isn’t this such a good thing for me to do? I’m going to serve Jesus through my study time and shouldn’t I be praised for that?” But, as He did with Martha, Jesus says no, you’ve missed it. When you approach your Bible study this way, you miss what Christ is really asking you to do. Why? Because you never asked Him. Reading devotions and studying books is far from a bad thing—these are actually great things to do. But if it’s not what He is asking you to do, and you neglect what He is asking you to do in order to accomplish them, then you are missing the life that He has to offer. Daily interacting with Christ and asking Him what He has for you is key to receiving life. In Mary and Martha’s situation, there would have been a moment when it would be necessary for them to get up and prepare a meal. And Jesus probably would have gotten up with them. There is absolutely a place for our activities, but only as He so invites us. Jesus said that Mary was understanding this concept better. What was Mary doing? She was sitting at His feet and listening to what He had to say.
The picture here isn’t of Jesus is standing with Mary sitting at his feet, giving her a three-point lecture. Rather than chairs, they would have had blankets or cushions on the floor, and they would have sat and reclined on these. Jesus would have been reclining on these cushions with His feet extended, and Mary would have been next to Him, sitting the same way. They were having a conversation. Mary was having a dialogue with Jesus. She was learning the things He wanted to speak to her about her life. She was asking questions and He was explaining things to her, and asking her questions in return. This kind of dialogue is relational—it’s abiding!
Furthermore, this dialogue that Mary chose was the good thing. Mary chose what was best. What does that imply? It implies that it was a choice. Mary could have gotten up and started working like Martha did, but she chose the better and more critical thing—to sit at Jesus’ feet and glean the wisdom He had for her. Jesus had insight for her about her life and it was way more important that she hear it than that she do all the activities she may have thought she needed to get to. The activities are important, and will need to eventually get done, but first we must go sit at the feet of Jesus.
Seeking God first.
But what does this look like for us? We can’t physically sit at Jesus’ feet. So how do we live like Mary did? How do we seek to abide with Christ? We first need to listen to what He is speaking to us and then we need to dialogue with Him on it. If He’s showing you truth as you read through scripture, don’t just read it and then go off to the next thing. Camp out in that place. Stay in those verses and dialogue with Him until you’ve got it in your heart. His words are eternal life, and they will have a profound impact on your life if you allow them to really sink in. This approach is very antithetical to what we as modern-day Christians are generally used to. We believe that to know more is better, and that quantity is better than quality—knowing more is better than knowing deeper. Since we are used to trying to know everything, instead of just what Jesus would have us camp out on, we need to be super intentional with our approach to our devotional time. A lot of people believe that they understand what Jesus is speaking to them after reading it once. They read it, it made sense, so therefore they’ve got it. The question you need to ponder is: what do you have? Are you experiencing this truth in your life? If you’re not, then you don’t truly get it. Abiding is sitting at the feet of Jesus and staying with Him each day until you receive His word. It’s not going from thing to thing; it’s staying with Him, abiding in His truth, and allowing Him to speak His word, which gives life, answers, and tangible experiences. In order to receive this, you need to stay with Him. Mary did this, and in doing so, she chose the better thing.
Are you getting up in the morning and spending time with God first thing? All you need is twenty minutes. If you are getting up and camping out on the same scripture every morning, processing and journaling, and interacting with God about it, and you do this everyday for just twenty minutes, you will start to experience the life He has to offer. We choose this because it is the better thing. Yes, we have activities we will need to get to, and He will sanction that, but He doesn’t want you to put these activities ahead of spending time with Him and abiding in His word.
Finding the Word valuable.
Many of us struggle to get into the Word every day. We may think we’re too busy, and that we’ll get to it when we have time, but the truth is that we make time for what is valuable to us. And, if your approach to Bible reading has been to just check the box, you likely haven’t been able to translate what you’re reading into living it out, meaning that the Word has little impact on your life. When we read scripture this way, it becomes dead and dry, and we find no joy or value in it.
So how do we find value in it? Stay where He is speaking life. Learn to soak it in and allow Him to do His work. When we try to do it in our own strength, it doesn’t impact us. But if you learn how to abide, it will become so valuable to you that you’ll never stop doing it. Everyone at our ministry can give testimony to that. God’s Word is so much more that just instruction for the day, it is life. When we spent consistent time with Him, abiding in the word He is speaking to us, we can know that we are fully connected to the God of the universe, and that He will walk us through every step of our lives, directing us into His perfect will. Your time in the Word can flip from a meaningless intellectual activity to the incredible life that comes from an abiding relationship with God. He can guide you and transform you in amazing ways.
Jesus said that Mary chose the better thing. If you are living like Martha right now, He asks you: are you willing to reconsider? It’s not about what you do for Him, it’s about what He is going to do for you. Walk wit Him and sit with Him and enjoy Him. He will have tasks for you to do later, but first you need to receive His words of spirit and life. It is a choice you have to make: am I going to sit at the feet of Jesus or not? He won’t force you, but the invitation is always open.
If you have questions about abiding or seeking the life of Christ, don’t hesitate to contact us any time, at https://abideministries.com/contact-us/. We’d love to hear from you and process any questions you may have!
